Skye's Game
by JujuQue
Summary: When love for Jill has risen, marriage is the only thing in Skye's mind. But, can Jill cope with the danger of being an accomplice of a criminal? To ensure her safety, Skye sets up a game to test her ability in the art of theft, as well as her love.
1. Perfect Plans?

**Author's Note: Okay, this is the first time I've uploaded a fanfic on the web so hooray for me! I know that JillxSkye stories have already been uploaded more than hundreds of times, but I just think that it'll be fun to post my first story about my favorite Harvest Moon couple. The points of view switch very often, so it might get a little confusing. It's a bit long and boring at first, but try to bear with me, the second chapter will have more twists and turns to it. (It's also like a page longer than this chapter.) I hope you enjoy this, and please review, I want to know your opinions on my first time writing on the web, but please no flaming! Constructive criticism and compliments will be much appreciated. Now, enjoy! (Sorry, if this was a pretty long author's note.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not and never in my lifetime will ever own Harvest Moon or any characters from that game. Maybe one day when Santa grants my wish, but not now.**

**_2/20/12: Hey, after three years of first writing this chapter, I'm back to revise it :D Not that it's any better, but hopefully it's improved. Enjoy~_**

* * *

**Chapter One  
Perfect Plans? **

People thought that everything was more beautiful in the daytime than at night, but Jill had different views. When people thought of night, they thought of darkness, cold, loneliness. But never do they think of the serenity and peace that blanket of darkness brings. Night really was more beautiful than the day was what Jill thought. Night was perfect, flawless, dark yet warm in some way.

She stood in front of the circular, glassy pond, that illuminated from the brightness of the stars. As Jill opened her amethyst eyes to look down upon the Goddess Pond, she could see herself in the reflective water. Jill sighed and tightened her grip on the thick blanket that was wrapped around her. She brushed away a single strand of her brunette hair out of her face, and Jill began to think about why she came here at such a late hour in the first place. To think about something that ruined her once perfect life, perhaps.

Just one thing, that made nighttime seem the most horrible time of the day.

But it wasn't some_thing_ that caused this stress_. _It was some_one. _

Angered and disgusted just by thinking of him, she kicked a stone into the shimmering pool in front of her. She watched it sink to the bottom, and the surface of the pond began to glow. Jill backed away a few steps and shielded her eyes from the blinding light with her left hand. Her eyes squinted as a woman with long green hair and a turquoise gown floated above the water. The woman's astonishing green eyes sparkled as she stared back at Jill. Their eyes locked together for a few seconds: amethyst and emerald. The green-clad woman held out her palm to reveal the small stone that Jill had kicked into the pond only moments ago. Smirking, she tossed the stone aside.

"Are you_ serious_? Jill, I've told you so many times, get me a gift worth coming out for, it's tiring making such a dramatic scene just to get a pebble. I'm the_ Goddess_ for goodness sake! Now, what do you want?" The Goddess asked bitterly.

"I don't really feel like putting in the effort to prepare anything worthwhile," Jill replied nonchalantly. A deep scowl formed onto the Goddess' pale face. "Plus, I summoned you here because, I have a favor to ask of you." Jill replied.

"Okay, so what is it?" The Goddess still seemed to be angered by the useless offering she had just received.

"Well, it's that scoundrel, cocky, and devious bitch...I mean man." Jill hissed angrily.

"Do you seriously think that I can guess who you're talking about just by listening to you saying a few random words?" The Goddess asked, still slightly irritated about the "gift".

"Ugh, It's that Phantom Thief. He thinks that he's the most amazing and the greatest thing to happen to women! He's conceited, conniving, and a_ flirt_! It makes me want to tear him to shreds! I've been trying to capture him for more than a year yet I haven't even gotten close! I need to have a chance! Please! Help me out or _something_!" Jill cried furiously. She grinded her teeth together, and kicked a tree that was planted next to her.

"Okay, okay, Jill. I know you want to capture the _oh so sexy _Phantom Skye but-"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

"I m-mean the _scoundrel_ Phantom Skye but, you have to understand, I can't throw someone in jail just like that! He has to do something horrible and sinful for me to be allowed to do that!" the Goddess stammered, her eyes wide in terror. She gravely expected Jill to strike her or something because of her unneeded comment about the Phantom Thief. Jill groaned, and kicked a tree again.

"Would you stop kicking those trees? The leaves are falling into my pond and I'll have to clean it up." the Goddess whined. The farmer groaned again, and got down to sit in front of the pond. The wind blew her brunette hair in all directions as she sat there frozen.

"He took everything from my friends. I can't take it anymore. Are you sure you can't do anything?" Jill asked, sadness in her eyes. The Goddess seemed to notice her grief, but shook her head.

"No, I'm so sorry but, it's the rules." she replied sadly.

Jill sighed, and got up. She turned around and started to walk back to her home. "Thanks, Harvest Goddess." she said flatly, not looking back. The Harvest Goddess sighed, then she retreated into her pond, melting away into vapor.

Jill left the Goddess area, and headed toward the Main Path. North from there was where her farm was: her home. Jill hoped that she wouldn't see Skye's cocky face tonight, for she just felt too depressed to be annoyed by the flamboyant thief. Jill looked up at the stars, praying for a chance to get that thief one day. Just one chance would be fine enough for her.

* * *

Living inside a pond was dull in the Goddess' opinion. Sure, the idea of living in a magical pond would_ sound _appealing to a mortal, but they didn't know the half of it. The only excitement the Goddess ever got was from being summoned to the surface by an offering...most of the time by the cheap brunette farmer.

It would've been a little better if she were allowed to have furniture. Unfortunately for her, the Harvest King rejected this idea, saying that doing so would attract attention from humans looking closely at the pond.

Speaking of that midget bastard, the Harvest King, it was because of him the Goddess had no way of helping Jill. How a short, stubby little person in a red top hat was qualified to be the ruler of all the divine beings was a complete mystery to the Goddess...

But, as Harvest King, his word was final. To interfere with the problems of an individual human being, no matter how important the situation was, was a capital punishment. Yes, Jill has saved the Goddess from permanant bansihment from the human world, and yes the girl had asked for her help, but there really wasn't any way to help Jill without her interference being seen by the Harvest God...

Then, as if the world had stopped spinning, a plan formed in the Goddess's head. A brilliant, yet somewhat difficult plan.

The Harvest King wouldn't be able to detect her actions if she wasn't doing anything against his code, right? What if, instead of directly helping Jill, she could enter the thief's mind, and perhaps tweak it a bit? She wasn't allowed to completely take over his mind, or read his thoughts, but maybe dropping a few hints here and there would do perfectly. Yes, there was nothing in the Harvest King's law that said entering someone's mind was forbidden. She just had to make sure she didn't brainwash him. It was a perfect plan. The Goddess had no reason to think otherwise.

* * *

Slithering in between the trees and bushes, Skye was like a snake, ready to attack its prey. With a goal set in mind, he was determined. He vowed not to screw up. Not after the _months_ of rehearsing his lines over and over: there was no way for him to fail now. He had planned this day months ago. On a moonlit night, where white stars were scattered across the sky, a bright full moon hanging above to complete the romantic scene...

Of course, he'd have to find the victim first.

"Is this it?" He asked himself in the darkness.

The thief stood in front of rows and rows of crops that seemed to go on forever. He turned around to see two log houses next to each other, separated by a scarecrow. Walking towards one of the houses, he edged close to read the writing on the door.

"_Vesta's Farm"_

"Damn it. Not here." Skye sighed, "It's got to be a farm. She smells like a barn animal everytime I go near her..." the man smirked. If there was any girl that he didn't mind comparing to smelly animal, it was Jill. This didn't mean that he hated her. Not at all. It's just that he felt that the more insulting he was to her, the more endearing it was (Plus, she never did take compliments lightly, so he might as well have more fun by poking fun at her instead of her calling him a corny flirt.)

He wandered aimlessly around the farm, walking past the wind mills towards the excavation site. Jill didn't live around that area. Skye knew so. The only people who lived there was a an old fart named Carter and his "dorky" assistant, Flora. (Or perhaps he shouldn't call her "dorky". After all, last summer she almost killed him with her killer karate. She was qualified to be a murderer was what Skye thought...)

He looked down upon the glistening waterfall, and watched it sparkle beneath the moon's touch. Usually the Goddess Pond would've been his choice of destination, but he felt as though he should give this place more attention. It was just as beautiful as the Goddess Pond. If his face can be seen in it, what difference was there?

The crashing of water calmed him as he watched his reflection in the waterfall. A cool gust of wind washed over him as he stared at nothing in particular. Deep in thought, the image of a smiling Jill graced his senses. If he succeeded tonight...

He blinked. If he succeeded...then what? What would happen to Jill?

Shaking his head, Skye tried to ward off any negative thoughts that threatened to hinder him on his mission. He had to act now. There was no way around it. To wait any longer would be torture. He closed his eyes. For a moment of quiet and serenity before continuing...

"Wait, what was I doing again?"

Skye looked down to nod at his reflection in the water, as though it were explaining something to him. "Oh right. Back to business." He backed away from the waterfall a few feet, then he sprinted across the dirt and leaped over the body of water, landing right on the edge of the other side. Now at the Spring, he looked around, and walked south towards the path leading to the exit.

Slowly, he crept along the stone path, making little noise as he made his way out of the Spring and into the Main Area of Forget-Me-Not Valley. Another stone path leading to a wide expanse of green land and the smell of filthy animals caught his attention.

"She's got to be there, that's the only place I haven't looked." He smirked and took long strides towards the northern area.

He stepped into the large area. Two houses stood proudly, one of which had to be housing the female farmer he was looking for. A large field was spread out behind the two houses. Ducks swam in the ponds as they playfully snapped at each other. A brown, chocolate coated horse galloped in the field, eating weeds that sprouted from the rich dark soil of the farm. The soft lowing of cows and sheep could be heard within the barnyard, and the bright red of ripe strawberries latched onto the green stems that they had grown from. An all and all beautiful farm, Skye noted to himself.

Testing his luck, the thief headed towards the bigger house. A nagging feeling told him that Jill would be there. Barely touching the doorknob, the door swung open effortlessly. He was amazed at how easy it was to break into this house. Actually, he was amazed that no one in the damn valley ever locked their doors. Stuffing his hand into the pocket of his purple jeans, he felt something soft and smooth in his palm. He sighed in relief: it was still there. He pulled it out, letting it's sapphire glow catch the moonlight illuminating from the windows. He gripped the fragile blue feather tightly in his hand.

Skye wanted this moment to be perfect. He had been practicing his lines over and over again in front of his mirror, carefully choosing lines that Jill didn't label as "cheesy" or "corny" like she always did. This was his chance: he could not make a fool of himself. Ever since that day she saved him from being thrown into prison, he had given up being the playboy of the valley and never flirted with other girls besides Jill. After all, Jill still probably thought that he flirted with the other women, and he didn't want her to think that. She didn't know that she was one of the first people Skye had ever admired. To be more precise, she was the second girl Skye gave up his playboy act for.

Skye switched on the lights, and the dark room brightened as the overhead lamps flickered on. The room was...for lack of a better word, chaotic. The bookshelves were crammed with large farming books, that looked as if they had never been touched yet seemed to have been flung onto the shelves without any sort of organization among the titles. A wooden dining table and chairs were set up, with bits of carrot and celery rotting on the table. The neat-freak Skye refused to glance at anymore of this poor excuse of a tidy home, so he shifted his sight to where he hoped Jill to be. The bed in the corner of the room was messy, like the rest of the house, but what bothered Skye even more was that it was empty. Where could that girl be? Disappointment filled the thief.

"Damn it. She isn't here." He said to himself sadly.

Skye walked slowly towards the door, opening it with caution. When he stepped out of the house, a sillhouette creeped into view. Perhaps it was the police? Taking no chances, Skye recited the words, "CHICK-BEAM FIRE" to hopefully ward away whatever was coming near him. But as he came up a little closer to the figure, his serious expression changed to that of a confident smirk. There she was. The prey. The victim.

His fiance? Well, not yet at least.

"Heh, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." It was true, of course.

"What have you stolen from my house, Skye?" Jill asked, her lips pursed.

"I didn't steal anything, I was looking for you." Skye replied, copying the farmer's offensive tone.

"Yeah right. Empty your pockets, Phantom."

"When?"

"Right now."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I said so."

"And what if I said no?"

"Skye, just do it."

"No."

Jill groaned, and Skye smiled. This wasn't anything unusual, they had always quarreled about pointless things since they'd met. It was a good sign in Skye's mind. It meant that she wasn't in a bad mood...or maybe she was.

"Shit, Skye, it better not be those strawberries." The brunette glared dagger at the thief.

"I didn't steal anything. Now, since this wasn't what I anticipated our meeting to be like, I'll be going now." Skye waved at the frozen girl, and watched her fuming in the distance until he could not see the girl any longer. He left the farm, and from the main path he turned right.

He stopped in front of the Goddess Pond and plucked the feather back out of his pocket, and twirled it in between his fingers. He couldn't believe himself. _The _Phantom Thief not having enough courage to propose to a silly farmer. Absurd. He stared at the feather as it enticed him with its sapphire glow. Then suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a strange force.

_Skye._

"Who's there?" Skye called out in the air, obviously freaked out by the eerie voice that had just called out his name.

_I am your conscience_, _and I am here to tell you that-_

"You mean like Jiminy Cricket?"

_AND I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT_ _ARE IN GRAVE DANGER OF-_

"And I am here to tell you that I hate imaginary beings like you. Begone before I dump you into a sewer, cricket. If I can. Since you're imaginary and all..."

_Listen kid. I ain't no damn cricket, and you're in grave danger because of all the hurt you've caused to the poor farmer girl. Got it? Give her at least one chance to catch you, so that she isn't depressed anymore. Besides, it'll soften her up for you and you can propose to her with the damn feather._

"Chance? Give her a chance to catch me? Are you sure that it'd help me once I try proposing? Won't she just arrest me?" He paused, "Then again, you do bring up a good point."

Skye continued on, "If I were to propose to her now, and if she were to say yes, what about her reputation? She's too popular around here to not get caught with a thief. I'd have to run away with her, but how could I do that when she might not be able to handle the life of a thief?" Skye asked himself. "What would I do?"

_Well, how about you just throw yourself in jail-_

"I've got it! I'll _make_ a thief!"

_What the hell do you mean? You'll _make_ a thief? What kind of idea is that?_

"It's one that doesn't concern you, voice-in-my-head. Now, leave. I have some planning to do."

Skye smiled at his reflection as he looked into the glassy pond. The stars seemed to sparkle even more brightly than before. He heard the sound of an owl hooting in the distance and the sound of the crashing waters from the waterfall. The green leaves were rustling from the branches of the trees surrounding the pond and were being blown away by the wind. Had he always been this perceptive? Maybe it was love that was heightening his senses...

It was the perfect plan. There was no chance of it failing.

Would she really refuse the thief once the time came for the proposal?

The thief reached into his pocket to take out a juicy strawberry that he had just picked moments ago. He took a small bite out of it, letting the juice drip down his chin as he contemplated the details of his newest plan.

* * *

**Yeah, well that was chapter one of my first story. In case you haven't caught on, "Jiminy Cricket" is actually the Goddess trying to manipulate Skye. **

******_a/n: Augh, I hate reading my fifth-grade writing. Hopefully I made this a bit better paced and detailed._**


	2. Secrets Kept, Memories Concealed

**Edited & Revised**

**Author's Note: Thank you, readers, for reviewing my first chapter! I can't believe that I got 5 reviews already in just one day, and all of them are compliments, yipee! I just hope you aren't just complimenting me to be nice, I appreciate compliments and I love to be criticized, so you can be as truthful as you want, but please don't be too harsh. (wow, so wishy-washy, huh?)**

**This chapter was a lot of fun to write, although I think that I made it little too long. I hope this won't be boring to read because I worked hard on this chapter. It took me a while to perfect it and make sure it didn't sound cliche. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. I'm still waiting for Santa to grant my wish, but that's not until December. **

* * *

**Chapter Two  
****Secrets Kept, Memories Concealed**

Jill rarely attended slumber parties since she was always busying herself with the ranch. At first, she felt that she would have to decline Celia's invitation, but when she mentioned Claire's name, Jill realized that she could get the chance to find out about the problem that had been irking her since the night before: Why did Skye come to Jill's house in the middle of the night, just to leave soon after?

Sleeping bags were placed around the entrance stairs of the room. Inside of each sleeping bag, a girl laid inside, each with their eyes shut tight, dreaming of things like heartbreak, new discoveries, traveling, planting, and new 10,000 G perfume from grandma. Only two girls lay awake though, facing each other in a deep conversation.

"So, Skye just randomly came to your house, leaving because your meeting wasn't as he had expected?" Claire looked at Jill with bewilderment. Her deep sapphire eyes stared deep into Jill's amethyst ones, as though the answer would appear right in there.

"You're right for once. I wonder why Skye did that." Jill replied.

"Who knows, that jerk is just too mysterious, ya know what I mean? He never gives an answer to anything." Claire said, deep in thought.

"Ah...I thought you'd know why Skye was acting so weird. I mean, you two used to be a couple and all so-" Jill's speech was cut abruptly by Claire's annoyed hisses of curses.

"Whoops, sorry. I... forgot you didn't like to talk about it." Jill admitted sadly.

"Whatever, it's my fault anyway, and I'm not ashamed to admit it." Claire said, coolly.

"Claire, what happened between you two? You were both inseparable." Jill said, forgetting about the last topic they were having. Claire stared at Jill with dark glaring eyes.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Claire responded, her cold glare turned off, and she smiled at Jill warmly. "Well, the whole point of this sleepover was to sleep, so good night Jill-Jill." Claire chirped, using Jill's childhood nickname.

"Yeah, good night." Jill replied in the same cheery manner as Claire.

They both buried themselves underneath their blankets, closing their eyes, but not truly sleeping. Both of the girls were thinking: their thoughts were entirely different, but they had one thing in common; their thoughts both revolved around Skye.

* * *

I wonder what was going on in Skye's mind last night. I mean, what kind of person would just randomly come to a person's house and just leave? There must've been something that Skye wanted. I know there is, but what? I turned my head to face Claire. She was facing the other way, but I was sure that she was still awake. _I hope I didn't offend her with my question about her past relationship with Skye. _I turned my head around again. _Was it because of me? Why is it that I get that strange feeling that I had something to do with their breakup? _I felt the urge to talk to Claire, but I decided that I had to go to sleep. I tried my hardest to, but I just gave up.

Then and there I decided that I was too bored to just lay there all night. I got up from my sleeping bag, and I crept down the stairs and out of the house.

* * *

_Why did she have to ask that?_ I thought to myself. _And why wasn't I good enough for you, Skye? What made you want to break up with me? We were so perfect together. Until... _I turned my head to face Jill, who was facing the other way. _I wonder if she's sleeping already. _I turned my head around again and sighed. _Right, the answer is so obvious._

The sounds of steps surprised me, and I turned around in my sleeping bag to see Jill leave the room. Perhaps for a midnight walk. I shut my eyes tight once more, trying to get my mind off the flamboyant thief, but instead, I ended up getting out of bed and secretly following after her.

* * *

What was ten P.M. at night for the farmers was ten A.M. in the morning for a certain thief.

Skye was about to open his eyes, and swiftly jump out of bed in his usually graceful manner, but it didn't seem to work.

"OH SHIT, NOOOOO!" Skye cried out as he rolled down from the mattress of his bed. He landed onto the floor with a loud "thud" with his navy blue blanket still wrapped around him like a burrito. He sat up and rubbed the top of his head. He winced as his head started to ache. "Damn it, that's the fifth time this month." He whispered to himself, leaning his head against the bedside table. He got up quickly and threw the navy covers back onto the bed, too lazy to fix it. He rubbed his head again, and walked towards the mirror in the corner of his one room home.

The room was sparse, and had two windows blocked with a black curtain against the front. There was a round wooden table with a chair pushed in beneath it, and a messy bed with navy blue covers next to a black bedside table in one corner. On top of the bedside table, there was a dim broken lamp and old photographs from high school placed on it. A door lead to the kitchen and a small ladder sat in one other corner of the room, which was used when Skye had to steal from high places. In another corner of the room was a wooden vanity complete with a circular mirror which Skye was using to observe the small bump on his head.

"Damn, it'll take a week to recover." Skye said, rubbing his bruise.

Skye walked towards the kitchen, and gathered the ingredients for his breakfast. He "borrowed" these ingredients from Jill. Right before he retreated into his home inside the cave behind the waterfall the other night, he picked up a few eggs from her chicken coop, and he brought some milk home as well.

He plopped himself back into his bed, lying underneath his warm covers. Closing his eyes, he began to revise and check over his plan in his head, making sure that nothing was left out. Planning was also one of his best traits, among his many other talents. By the time he was sure the plan was flawless, he checked the eggs in the pot to see if they were ready. They were, so he took out the two boiled eggs from the pot, and began his breakfast, seating himself on the chair in his dining room.

"Three parts, part one will be checked off by tomorrow night, and part two in about..." he paused for a moment, then continued, "Two weeks." He continued to eat his breakfast, smiling. "I think I'll have to borrow some more of these eggs from Jill, they're delicious."

_I can't believe you're talking to yourself. _

"You again?"

_Duh, who else can enter your mind like this?_

"So, what are you in my mind for this time?"

_What is it that you're planning, Skye? It better not be anything perv-_

"Perverted? Hell no. Although..."

_That's it! If you don't tell me what you're planning then I'm gonna have to read your mind by myself! _

"How would you be able to do that? That's against your code, and you'll really get in trouble, that's not saying that I never get in trouble."

_H-how did you-_

"I was just testing to see if that was true. I had no idea it was against your code, but you've already answered my question, so now you have nothing to threaten me with." Skye smiled casually.

_Damn..._

"Now, is there anything else you need?"

_...Shit, I guess I'll go now that I've been found out._

"Yes, you do that. I have more planning to do." Skye sat quietly in his chair, making sure that the menace in his head had truly gone.

When he was certain that it was gone, he began reminiscing the day he first fell in love. Why was that girl a stranger to him now? Wasn't she the same girl that used to haunt his dreams every night? Now, he felt nothing for her. He hadn't even thought about her for months. What had gone so wrong, that they had to end their relationship? Wasn't it because a certain girl changed his mind? Did that girl even know what she did? _No, she didn't. _Skye thought to himself. _She didn't know. _

Skye finished eating, and got up from his seat.

"I'm bored, I guess I should take a walk around, maybe even steal some stuff." He left the kitchen and crossed through his bedroom/living room and exited through the front door.

When he got out of the stuffy house, he was instantly relaxed by the sweet smell of flowers and the sound of the water from the waterfall crashing down. Living behind a waterfall wasn't as bad as he had thought on the first day he came to the valley. As he walked around the waterfall, something caught his attention near the Goddess Pond, which was directly across the river from where he was standing. It was Jill, walking up to the pond looking into its waters. Skye watched her from afar.

Jill was beautiful. Her long brunette hair was down and her amethyst eyes shone brightly against her tanned skin. She wore a knee-high white dress with designs of lavender lacy flowers and butterflies. Her long hair swayed in the wind as she knelt down to look into the pond. What was she here for? Skye was curious, and then he realized something. _Heh, I guess I don't have to wait 'til tomorrow night for my plan to start. _

Skye started walking over towards the Spring, he took silent strides being very careful not to be heard. When he was right behind Jill, she finally turned to meet his gaze, her soft amethyst eyes were piercing into Skye's electric blue ones.

* * *

I stared into his eyes, trying to look for the answer to my question. I was so deep in thought that I barely heard him when he started speaking.

"So, how have you been, angel?" Skye asked me, smiling casually.

"Fine, until you came along." I replied bitterly. Skye seemed hurt, but he tried to hide it, so instead he smiled at me.

"What's with the huge bump on your forehead? It looks really gross." said to him, I was just being honest, it was truly disturbing.

"So, I heard you wanted a chance to catch me." He said, seemingly trying to ignore my comment on the horrible lump.

"Wha-how did you know?" I asked, bewildered.

"Oh, I just had a feeling."

"What kind of feeling?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Skye." I said his name, deep in thought.

"Yes?"

"What were you doing at my house last night?" I asked Skye seriously.

"Ah, I knew you'd ask that again."

"You did?" I asked, surprised.

"That's what I'm here for, to answer your question.

"Wha-so...just like that? You're going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"So, what do you want?"

"I want to play a game with you."

I hadn't expected that. "A...game?" I choked out. What was he planning? Was it some...perverted game? _Oh God, no. _I thought to myself, sickened by the mere thought of it. I wrapped my arms around my chest and looked away, just in case. Skye seemed to notice this gesture.

"Damn, it seems like everyone considers me a pervert nowadays, huh?"

"Who wouldn't? Besides, what's up with you and Claire? If it weren't for that ridiculous stunt you pulled.." I stopped when I saw a wince form on Skye's face.

"Let's change the subject."

"See, you just proved my point, you don't like talking about each other, what happened?" I asked irritably, I knew that it would be wrong to pry, but I was so curious.

"Do you want to know what the game is or not?" Skye asked, in the same irritated voice I used.

"Fine." I replied flatly. Whatever it was, I was ready to do about anything to get the answer to my question: What was he doing at my house the other night?

* * *

I was crouched down, hidden under a bush. What game? And why are they talking about me? Why is Skye _refusing_ to talk about me? I'm curious, what is that thief planning? And why does this game only revolve around Jill? I try to lean in closer a little more to hear what they are saying. Crap, this isn't helping. Why am I here eavesdropping anyway? This is their game, not mine. I guess my curiosity is consuming me.

"See, you just proved my point, you don't like talking about each other, what happened?" I heard Jill ask Skye. Yes, Skye, what do you have to say about that?

"Do you want to know what the game is or not?" Way to go Phantom Thief, thanks _a lot _for evading the question, cause I _really didn't _want to know what your problem with me was. Thanks a lot you bastard! I leaned in even closer.

"Fine." I heard Jill say. What was this game that Skye was planning? As I tried leaning in closer, a twig snapped underneath the weight of my knee. Skye turned towards the bush I was hiding in. I could tell that he knew I was here.

"Claire? What are you doing here?"

* * *

I turned to see where the sound came from, and thought I saw a strand of blond hair in the grass, next to a small green bush. I smirked, I had a feeling it was a certain farmer from Mineral Town here to eavesdrop. It seemed as though Jill knew that too, for she confirmed it herself.

"Claire? What are you doing here?" Jill asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was trying to conceal herself from view.

The girl sighed and got up from her hiding spot. She was wearing a blue T-shirt and blue pajama pants. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail with a blue rubber band.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Claire asked in reply. It took me a few seconds to realize that she was talking to _me_. We haven't spoken for such a long time I forgot that we even had the ability to.

"Nothing that concerns you. Now we asked first, so answer. What are you doing here?" I asked her, repeating Jill's question, except a bit more harshly. Claire glared at me.

"I wanted to see where Jill was going; it appears that she just came for a walk and now you've appeared out of nowhere wanting to play some game with her. So, what's this game you want us to play?" Claire asked.

"What do you mean by the word _us_? I never said you could play-"

"Let her." Claire and I turned our heads to see where the voice came from. We were so caught up in our argument that we forgot that Jill was still here. "Tell us what the game is, and if it's something I can do by myself, then Claire doesn't have to play. If you won't let her play if I need her help, then I won't participate." I glanced at Jill, then at Claire.

"Alright, the game could use one more person. It's a scavenger hunt."

* * *

The two farmers stared at the thief, their mouths agape. "What?" They both replied in unison. Skye nodded slowly.

"That's it? I thought that you were planning something more...I don't know..." Jill tried to think of something to finish her sentence.

"Less childlike?" Skye finished her sentence.

"Yeah, why do you want us to do some silly scavenger hunt? Besides, what's in it for us?" Claire asked.

"Well, I don't know about you, but if Jill were to win my game, she may ask me any three questions she wants, and I'll answer her truthfully." Skye replied.

"What would I need to ask you anyway? What if I don't care about the secrets you have?" Jill asked irritably. This was a waste of time.

"Because, angel, you may ask me _anything. _Where I live, where I keep all of my stolen items, where all of my hidden passageways are, _anything_."

Jill stared at him. She realized that maybe her wish was coming true. Her chance to catch the thief, it was happening. She could ask him all those stuff! Then, another thing popped up in her head, she could ask him what he was doing at her house that one night.

"Alright, I like what I'm hearing..." Jill started before Claire cut her off.

"But why would you want to give her the chance to catch you? You're taking a big risk, so what's in it for _you_?" Skye glanced at Claire.

"Now, before you ask questions, you have to win the game first. The rules are-" Jill cut Skye off.

"Rules? All we have to do is find the items you ask us to find, and we're done. You don't need to explain anything." Jill said, she wanted to start quickly because she was eager to put the thief behind bars.

"Not quite. It's a much more...complex version of a scavenger hunt. There will be obstacles, and certain passageways I will recommend you take. I will hide an item somewhere, and I will tell you to go find it. I'll send you a message telling you where and when to go to find it when I've put up the obstacles and hidden the item. Of course, you'll need time to get prepared for what I'm about to put you up against, so the minimum amount of time I'll give you will be about two days. Claire may help you get prepared, but finding the item is your job. Now, any questions?" Skye waited patiently for the girls to start talking. Their mouths were agape, once again.

"How are you going to send me these letters?" Jill asked irritably.

"Who said it was going to be letters?" Skye replied casually.

Jill and Claire exchanged confused glances. "And how are you going to set up these obstacles?" Claire asked. Skye looked at her, straight in the eyes, for the first time since they had last spoke.

"You'll see." he said seriously.

"So, when are we starting?" Jill asked.

"I told you the minimum time I'll give you is two days, so I may send you a signal tomorrow to get prepared. Anymore questions?" Skye didn't even wait a second for one of the girls to ask, "Alright, then get prepared, you'll have a long month ahead of you." Skye said. He winked at Jill, and exited the Spring. Jill and Claire exchanged glances.

"Wow, I just realized that I came out here just to walk, and now look at what we're going to have to go against." Jill said to Claire, shocked.

"Yeah, this has been a really weird night if you ask me. I wonder what time it is."

The farmers looked up at the sky. It had a strange lavender glow to it as the sun began to rise. "We stayed up really late I guess." Jill said. "Let's head back before the others get suspicious." The two girls exited the Spring, taking the same pathway as Skye had. They both secretly had hoped that they'd see where Skye was heading, but Skye was too fast for them, and had already gone home. The two girls smiled at each other, crossing the bridge and returning to Vesta's farm.

* * *

**Okay, I was planning to make chapter three start when the girls are like, "Wtf, a scavenger hunt?" but I realized that the chapter would be too short, and I thought it would be a better idea to make chapter three the start of the game (there's something you should look forward to). I hope it wasn't too long or boring, and I love reading your opinions so please review if you want to compliment my writing or constructively criticize me. Oh and thank you RoyalDanielle for pointing out my rudeness, because now I guess it does seem sort of rude to force reviewers to review just so I can post more chapters, so thanks! **

**Edited & Revised  
**


	3. The Key of the Villa

**Edited & Revised**

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm very sorry for not updating in such a long while, but I was at the Philippines for a few days, and I had no internet access. It was fun over there, but now I'll get back to work. This was a fun chapter to write because the game had finally started, and the black heart event was fun to write because that was one of my favorite events (actually, all of Skye's heart events are my favorite)! Well, I love compliments and constructive criticism, and I find predictions very amusing, so go ahead and post that too if you want. So, R&R and enjoy chapter three! **

* * *

**Chapter Three  
The Key of the Villa**

_Skye was hidden from view using the shadows as a concealment for himself. He was one with the night, not looking back or even thinking twice about the danger he was about to face; Skye was all too eager to feel the adrenaline rush in his veins after a successful raid of the mansion to care._

_The thief slithered snake-like around the trees, stopping only when he heard a noise. He was running up the marble staircase leading towards the entrance to the mansion. When he was finally in front of the mansion, he swung the wooden door wide open. _Damn, I sent a notice yet they didn't even think to lock their door. Suckers. _Skye thought to himself as he chuckled silently. _

_Skye crept into the house soundlessly and cautiously, moving forward into the house. The thief spotted something glittering on the grand piano that sat in the corner. He crept towards it and swiped the gleaming necklace off the mantle of the piano. The thief backed away from the piano, and continued to trek around the huge mansion. _

_The thief slowly made his way up the staircase to the right, and walked over to the room placed in the middle. He knew that this was where he would find it. Where he would find the item he came for. _

_He opened the door, and peered inside. A girl was sleeping in bed, probably having a nightmare for she was tossing and turning in bed. He saw jewelry placed carelessly on the floor, clearly visible to the thief. He picked up the pieces of jewelry and tossed them into his black sack. After that, he looked around the luxurious room, looking for the item. Then, he saw it. _

_It hung on a hook on the wall above the bed where the girl was sleeping. Skye walked over to the bed, and tried to reach it. His hand grasped it, and he tried to take it off its hook. But then, the item slipped through his hands, and it landed on the girl's head, who was sleeping underneath it. The young girl sprung up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced at the thief who was trying to reach for the item that was now in the young girl's hands. _

_"I-it's you, the Phantom Thief!" She cried. Skye ran towards the exit, hastily trying to escape. _

_He ran down the grand staircase to the left, and swung the wooden door open. Once he was outside, he ran as fast as he could. He was running so fast he couldn't see where he was going, so he collided with something hard, and he fell back. He looked up, and saw that what he bumped into was not something: it was someone. _

_"Skye? What's wrong with you?" Jill asked._

_Jill's eyes were concealed behind big, oversized glasses, and her brunette hair was in two braids that swayed in the cold air. She wore huge blue overalls over her scrawny body, and held a huge crate of eggs that Skye had bumped into. _

_Skye was too caught up in his mind to answer the girl's question. "And why are you wearing a leopard print jacket? It looks like the one on the news that was stolen by that thief to me..." Jill stared at Skye, she finally realized what was happening. "Whoa. No. Way. You can't be that Phantom Thief everyone's been getting freaked out about, are you?" Jill looked shocked. _

"_Heh, angel, no need to worry. I haven't stolen anything of too much value, so it's all good." Skye replied, getting himself up to stand. Jill gaped at the large sack that hung on Skye's shoulder. _

_"I have a feeling that you've stolen a large amount of things though, 'cuz that sack of yours looks pretty heavy." Jill narrowed her eyes at the thief through her thick glasses. _

"_Ummm..." Skye was about to start running until the doors of the mansion busted open to reveal a small teenage girl with short cinnamon hair. "You! You tried stealing one of my most prized possessions! You...thief!" Tears started to stream down the frightened girl's face. _

_"Oh darling, please don't cry. I'd rather see that beautiful face of yours happy." Skye said calmly, putting on his award-winning smile. _

"_B-beautiful?" The girl looked as though she were about to faint, and Skye started tiptoeing out of sight. Jill just glared at him. _

_"You do realize that Claire won't be too happy to hear about this, do you?" _

_Skye stopped in his tracks. He turned to face the brunette. His eyes were wide in fear. He and Claire had just started dating and this dork was planning to ruin his relationship? _

_"You bitch." Skye whispered, just loud enough for Jill to hear. "Oh, I'm so sad, you just called me a bitch so now I'm going to cry my ass off because of you." Jill said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. _

_"Well, anyway, I just thought you'd want to know before anything bad happens." Jill stuck her tongue at the silver-haired thief. Skye glared at her. He had never hated a girl this much in his entire life. _

_He turned and started walking away casually. _That little devil. _He thought to himself as he headed home. _

_"Well good luck trying not to go behind bars, pretty boy, 'cuz from now on we're enemies!" He heard the brunette chuckle behind him. _

* * *

Jill was so anxious to get back home to think about Skye's game that in the middle of the night, while all the others were asleep, she snuck out of Celia's room to head back to her farm. Although Jill would never admit it, she was actually really excited about Skye's game. She wanted to get it over with soon so that she can finally catch the thief.

The brunette was so tired from the day before, when Skye told her about the game, she slept through the loud beeping of her alarm clock, standing still on top of her bedside table. It was quiet and peaceful after a few beeps. Jill continued to sleep until she felt something hard push against her back.

"RISE AND SHINE!" Jill suddenly opened her eyes and sprung up from bed. She turned to see that Claire had been the one who had unwelcomely slapped her back while she had been sleeping. "Wha-Claire? What are you doing here? Don't you have to go back to Mineral Town?" Jill yawned, rubbing her eyes.

Claire shook her head, and grabbed Jill's arm, pulling her out of bed. "No, I'm staying here to help you with Skye's game, remember?" Claire replied.

"Yeah, I know that, but how about your farm? Don't you need to take care of it?" Jill asked, letting Claire pull her out of bed.

"Nope, I got your brother to take care of it temporarily. By the way, I love your house, it's really cozy." Claire looked around the house. Jill straightened herself up and exited her room, dragging Claire along with her.

"We'll eat breakfast and then you'll have to help me with my farmwork. It's already 6:05, so we have to eat fast." Jill instructed. Claire was surprised. "Dang, some schedule you've got there. Never knew you were a workaholic." Claire said as she got dragged into the kitchen by her best friend. Jill walked over to the small refrigerator in the corner of the kitchen and opened the small door. She pulled out two celery sticks and handed one to Claire.

"Uh...I don't think that this will be enough for me..." Claire said, staring at the small vegetable in her hand, she really wanted to eat something that would satisfy her appetite, which was quite large.

"Oh, sorry."

Jill walked back to the fridge and tossed a small carrot to Claire. Claire caught it with her other hand and stared at the vegetables in both palms.

"Thanks..." she said, craving for a bigger meal. They both started eating their "breakfast"._ No wonder she so much skinnier than me. All she eats in the morning is a celery stick._ Claire thought to herself, her stomach started to growl.

"Well, let's get to work." Jill said when she finished her celery. She exited the kitchen and then exited the house through the front door with Claire following.

A warm wind blew over the valley of Forget-Me-Not. Flower petals danced in the air, the streetlights dimmed, and owls and bats started flying back into their nests: morning was starting. The time when most of the villagers were waking up for a long day.

"I'll take care of the turnips, the potatoes, and the strawberries, so can you tend to the cucumbers and cabbages?" Jill asked Claire. Claire nodded slowly.

"After we're done, let's feed the animals and sheer the sheep together!" Jill smiled, making it sound as though they were going to an amusement park.

"Yeah, sure!" Claire said in the same tone as Jill used. They walked over to the field and began to work. Jill began working in her field, watering her turnips, then moving on to her strawberries.

As soon as they were fully grown, Jill planned on giving it to the Goddess as a gift. After all, when the Harvest Goddess had been banished by the Harvest King, and taken back to the human world by Jill, they had been very close friends since then. Jill hummed to herself happily as she finished watering the crops.

The brunette turned her head to see Claire wincing at the sight of the cucumbers as she watered them. Jill gave a small chuckle. Claire had always been wary of cucumbers, which was why Jill gave her the task to water them. It was so amusing to watch her water the "menacing vegetable" as Claire "fondly" calls it.

After Claire finished watering the cucumbers, the girls tended to the animals, feeding them, sheering the sheep, milking the cows, giving them water, petting them, picking up the eggs and throwing hay at each other for fun. They had a blast.

The two girls exited the barn and decided to walk around the valley for a bit. Claire hadn't come to visit in a long time, so it seemed as though there were a lot of changes in the valley since her last visit.

The farmers' last stop was at the mansion, which was occupied by an elderly woman named Romana and her young teenage granddaughter, Lumina. They had an old butler named Sebastian who lived with them.

The mansion was beautiful. In front of the mansion was a majestic fountain surrounded by a marble path connected to the grand staircase leading from the center of the valley to the mansion. There were beautiful flowers and trees surrounding the pathway and the mansion, and hidden underneath the ivy, there was a small hut which was owned by the Witch Princess. The mansion was truly amazing, but the serenity didn't last long.

As the girls made their way towards the door, Lumina suddenly burst out of the house bumping into Claire.

"Damn, Lumina, what's wrong?" Claire yelped when Lumina crashed into her. Lumina's coconut brown eyes were wet, and her short, cinnamon hair was messily tied into a bun.

"I'm so scared! What if he comes tonight again? He might steal everything!" The farmers instantly knew who the young teenager was talking about. The farmers knew that this was the message that Skye was sending. They didn't even have to speak to know what was on each other's mind.

"Lumina, you should get some sleep tonight. Claire and I will guard over your mansion and make sure that thief doesn't come anywhere near your house." Jill said, reassuring Lumina.

"Oh, but this is my problem, I wouldn't want to place a burden on you." Lumina replied, trying to hold back the tears that were bound to fall.

"No, seriously Lumina, we can do it. We have nothing else to do anyway, so get some shut eye." Claire said.

"A-are you sure? The letter sounded really serious and I wouldn't want you two to get hurt because of this." Lumina was really close to tears now.

"Yes, we're sure, just have a good sleep tonight and relax. We'll make sure that thief doesn't come within a few feet of your house." Jill said.

"Okay, thanks a lot you two. I sometimes wish I had older sisters like you." Lumina smiled.

Jill felt guilty when she said that because the main reason she agreed to do this was so she could find whatever Skye was making her find.

"Well, when are we supposed to come?" Claire asked, disrupting Jill's thoughts.

"It says that the Phantom Thief plans to come around ten to four, so come around ten." Lumina told the girls, scanning the letter she held.

"Alright, we'll be here, you can count on it." Jill replied, waving at Lumina while dragging Claire down the steps along with her.

"Thanks you guys!"

Jill was pulling Claire towards the well next to the bar. Her hand was tightened onto Claire's arm, and it felt as though it were an animal biting her.

"J-Jill! D-do you mind letting g-go?" Claire choked out, obviously freaked out about Jill's strange behavior.

"Claire! This is it! The start of the game!" Jill exclaimed, finally letting go of Claire's arm, which now swung limply at her side.

"Y-yeah, obviously." Claire rubbed her limp arm with her good one. "So, what?"

"_So what_? It's time! You have to help me get ready for Skye's game! Ummm...hide something, and make me find it or something! Hide it in this well or in a tree or...I don't know! Just make it challenging!" Jill hastily replied, jumping up and down in her spot.

"Wow, you're acting awfully perky today..."

"Because it's time! Let the games begin!"

"Jill, I think this game is getting to you. I mean, you're acting like a maniac..."

"Just hurry up and hide a random thing, please."

"...Alright." Claire headed towards Jill's house to find something that she could hide while Jill waited impatiently for Claire.

* * *

It was a peaceful night in Forget-Me-Not, flowers were blooming everywhere in the valley, and small nocturnal creatures that had woken up that night were scurrying freely around the valley. The grass was green with small dots of dew clinging on each blade of grass. Large bodies of water were gleaming fully, and fishes could be seen through the clear transparent waters. The sky was dark blue with bright stars that can be seen overhead, sometimes making shapes and patterns for the villagers to spot. The moon was high in the sky, and was in the shape of a crescent. It's nights like these that make me really want to see Jill.

I waited on top of the roof of the mansion while chewing on a blade of grass. It was late at night, and I was hoping that the girls weren't too stupid to not find out where I was striking next. I guess I only picked this as the first obstacle course because of that dream I had.

That dream about the past. When Jill found out about my true identity: The Phantom Thief Skye.

I wonder what could've made me dream about that, it had been a year since that incident. Hell, Jill looked so much different back then. I sat patiently, looking up at the dark sky from time to time. I wonder what time it is.

The air starts to get colder, but I've already grown used to it, so I ignore it as it passes over me.

"_Maybe I came too early? Too late? When were those girls coming? Did they get the message I was trying to se-"_

"Skye! We're here! Now what do you want?" Jill yelled loudly.

"Do you mind not being so loud, I'll get caught if you keep this up!" I yelled back at the loud brunette.

"Then get your ass down here before I start screaming!" Jill yelled back in reply.

I took the blade of grass out of my mouth and slid down the roof. I landed on the marble path, and right in front of the two girls.

"Well, so what am _I_ supposed to do while you two play this game?" Claire asked me irritably.

"You wait here with me, I have to make sure you aren't helping Jill." I replied. "And, Jill, I'll have to explain a few more rules, so don't interrupt, got it?" Jill nodded and I began to explain the rules.

"Well, you may receive no help from Claire, or anyone else in the Villa-"

"Wait, so this item I'm supposed to be looking for is _inside_?"

"No interruptions! You can't wake anyone up, and you have to get out without getting caught, if you are to be caught, I'll help you out of the situation, but you lose the game. Got it?" I glanced at both girls, waiting for them to ask.

"Yeah, what is this item I'm looking for anyway?" Jill asked.

"First, you need to find a key. It'll be hidden on a hook behind a painting, and I want you to get it. Once you have it, go to the piano and unlock it, and you'll find a treasure. That's what you're looking for." Skye said.

Jill and Claire exchanged glances. "Alright, then I'm ready." Jill said. I smiled and walked over to the door of the mansion.

"Then go on ahead."

* * *

Jill walked through the door of the mansion, and crept inside. She heard the door close behind her, and she turned her head to see the grand piano residing in a corner of the mansion. She stared at it with curiosity. _I wonder what kind of treasure he hid in there. A treasure chest? Gee, he better share the loot with me then. _Jill thought to herself. She looked around the house and saw that there were hundreds of paintings hanging on the walls of the expanse mansion.

"Damn, but which painting is the key behind? It'll take me all night to find it." Jill whispered to herself. She started with the painting that hung on the wall farthest from her. "This'll take some time to do..."

* * *

He's looking away, and I just stare at him. His long silver hair gleams beneath the moon's touch, and his skin is pale and flawless-

No, wait. I shouldn't be thinking like this. He's not my boyfriend. He's just a criminal I should have never met. He's like a demon; so beautiful, that it entices you until he rips you to shreds. I wonder what he's thinking about. Probably not me, he doesn't even notice that I'm here staring at him, thinking about him, and-

"Claire? Are you still there?" Skye asks, not even looking back at me. I guess it's so quiet that it's like I'm not even here.

"Y-yeah." I managed to say. He had surprised me so suddenly while I was thinking. He just nodded simply, and we sat there quietly.

It felt like hours that we had been sitting quietly until I started to speak.

"So, you l-love Jill now...huh?"

Skye nodded.

"I've always loved her."

"But, then why did you start dating me first? To get closer to her?" I waited for his answer.

"No, I didn't realize how I felt at the time." Skye answered. He finally looked back at me.

"What made you realize?" I asked in a nonchalant tone.

"Because our dates were always moments like these. Just sitting quietly, not saying a word: it was like we hardly knew each other, and bit by bit I started realizing you weren't the one. But the worst part of all," Skye glared at me, "was that day when you backstabbed me." I glared back at him, my eyes piercing into his.

"Whatever."

We both looked away from each other. We waited patiently; waiting for Jill to come back with the treasure. _She'd better come back soon. I can't stand this silence._

* * *

Jill checked behind every painting on the lower level of the mansion. She went into the kitchen and even risked going into Romana's room to check the paintings in there. Nothing. Jill felt like she had already failed. Where else would it be?

"Stupid Skye. It's not like anyone else told him to do something like this before. He probably lied or something so that I can lose. What a waste of precious time." Jill whispered to herself.

She was about to turn towards the door and exit until she caught sight of the set of staircases leading to the upper level. She then realized that she hadn't checked all the rooms; she had to go into Lumina's room. Jill was more hesitant to go in there because Lumina's room was a little smaller than her grandmother's room, and had a lot of things lying around that Jill might step on and cause noise. The farmer was in trouble, she knew it.

_Well, I didn't agree to do this game to give up, I'll just have to do it. _

Jill made her way up the stairs cautiously. She made sure her path was clear before taking a step and she made sure that her footsteps were silent. When she had made it in front of the teen's bedroom door, Jill sighed in relief that she hadn't gotten caught yet. Before entering, she pressed her ear against the door to hear if there was any rustling or moving in the room; she had to make sure Lumina was not awake.

She pushed the door open, and the first thing she saw was the painting hanging over Lumina's head. Lumina was asleep in her bed, and Jill knew that this would be a risky task getting the painting and not waking her up.

The painting was shaped like a diamond, and had a scenery of a waterfall painted on it. It was beautifully illustrated, and it looked as though the waterfall in the painting was real. It had to be behind it: Jill knew it was.

Jill crept over to the side of the bed. She stood on her toes to reach the painting. When she got a hold of it, she raised it from its hook and looked behind it. And then, she had finally found it, the key Skye had instructed her to find. She took it off its hook, and placed the painting back where she had found it. She tiptoed out of the room, and held the key tightly in her sweaty hand.

When she made it down, she lightly ran over to the piano, and found a keyhole on the right side of the piano. She used the key to unlock it, and a drawer opened revealing...

"...Another key?" Jill was so surprised she didn't bother to whisper, but thankfully no one in the household heard. She shrugged and picked up the key from its place. She put the other key on top of the piano, and left the mansion quietly.

She was finished. Round one of Skye's game: Complete.

* * *

**Skye: It took Jill a little shorter than I had expected to find the treasure. Yes, folks, it was indeed another key. And of course, this key would have to unlock something, but what, you may ask? And why exactly, does Jill look like such a dork when she looks nothing like the way jujuq had first described her in the first part of this chapter? And what had Claire done that had backstabbed me? Well, that information is classified, and I have no intention of revealing that to you, but maybe the next chapter will answer some of your questions? Frankly, I have no idea, I'm not the author, I'm unfortunately, the little shrimp's slave until the end of this lame story, but read the next chapter anyway, and I'll meet you there ladies. *winks* **

**jujuq: Errgh, Skye, can I write my author's note now? You kind of interrupted me. **

**Skye: Well, what's more important, your need for attention or **_**mine?**_

**jujuq: ...I knew I should've brought Claire instead of you here. Well, anyway, since Skye practically stole everything that I was about to say, I guess that concludes my author's note, but one more thing: Review and criticize! Thanks for reading my long chapter! **

**Edited & Revised  
**


	4. Taking a Sip

**Edited & Revised  
**

**Author's Note:**** I'm on the roll! Ha, wow, fourth chapter already, I feel like a real fanfic author now! :D I think that this chapter was shorter than three, so anyone who's actually been reading this won't have to endure another painfully long chapter. Well anyway, I didn't put an author's note here to just compliment myself, I want feedback from **_**you! **_**Constructive criticism, compliments, and predictions are allowed, so go ahead and review! Tell me whether you like the story so far, and give me suggestions on how I can improve and what you'd like to see more of in my story! I'll consider every one of your suggestions, so post away, fellow fanfictioners and visitors! Well, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Four  
Taking a Sip**

_Skye smiled as he watched the blond barmaid read the letter he sent. He was hidden from view on top of the bar's roof, and was looking through the small hole he had made on the ceiling. The woman then ran towards the trapdoor and kicked it open, leaving her room. Skye crawled a little to the right so that he can see through another hole he had made, which viewed the lowest level of the Blue Bar._

_The woman burst through the door behind the bar's counter. "Everyone! Please leave, something serious has happened, so now we'll have to close early!" The girl announced. Men who were drinking glumly started making their way towards the front door, and the bar was empty except for the girl and her boss. "Muffy! What's wrong with you? You look like a snake bit you or something!" The man said. _

_"Griffin, the Phantom Thief sent us a notice! And I think he's planning to steal that new drink that was just shipped from Tokyo!" Muffy exclaimed, handing Griffin the parchment of paper. _

_"The Okuhattan? That was 1000 G each bottle! Do you know how much money we'll lose if that thief were to steal that? We'll be broke!" Griffin cried out in frustration. _

_"How can we stop him?" Muffy asked._

_Then, the doors opened and a girl wearing huge glasses and overalls stepped into the bar, lugging a red wagon full of drinks behind her. Her long brunette braids bounced as she made it towards the center of the bar. Skye instantly knew who it was...Jill. "Sorry I'm late. Here's more Okuhattan shipped from Japan. I hope I don't sound demanding, but the shippers want their payment by today, so I'll have to collect your money now. So that'll be about...10,000 G." Jill said. _

_Muffy and Griffin exchanged glances. "10,000 G!" They both exclaimed in unison. They both looked back at Jill._

_"Jill, a thief is planning to steal all of our money and drinks, so this really isn't the time-" Jill cut Muffy off, _

_"THIEF? IT'S THAT BASTARD!" She yelled furiously. Skye cringed a little. She took the letter from Griffin and read it aloud. _

_"I'm going to bless your bar with my presence at midnight. Phantom Skye.' Ugh, he's so full of himself."_

_"Wait, you were there when Romana was robbed, weren't you? Can you help us catch this thief?" Griffin asked Jill in a pleading voice. _

_"Of course I will! I didn't get a chance to strangle him yet, so this'll be the perfect time to do so!" Jill exclaimed. Griffin cringed a little at her statement before continuing._

_"Alright, thanks, come back around twelve, it says here in the note that he might come around then."_

_"Then I'll go tell the shippers about the situation, and you can count on me to be here when he strikes!" Jill exclaimed. _

_She ran out of the bar leaving her red wagon full of Okuhattan behind. Skye looked up from his hole and averted his attention towards the girl running to the beach, planning to talk to the shippers. Skye smiled. _She thinks she can strangle me? Wait until I use my Chick Beam, we'll see who'll have the last laugh then._ Skye thought to himself, chuckling._

_

* * *

_

_Skye crept towards the bar soundlessly, he didn't even stop to look around. When he was in front of the bar, he looked through the front window. three figures stood behind the counter, obviously discussing a plan to capture him. He knew what to do. He backed away and took out a plate full of curry and set it on the bridge. Then, he ran as fast as he could and jumped into the bushes next to the door of the bar. He hid there and waited until the three of them would leave the bar. _

_Hearing the door creak, he looks towards the footsteps making their way towards the smell. It was too dark for him to see who was coming out, so he just assumed that all three of them left the building for him to rob. He then got out from his hiding place and swung the door open. It was still a bit dark, so he couldn't see a thing. Everything was going according to plan. But that wouldn't last for long.  
_

_Then lights were turned on, and he was face to face with the "four-eyed devil". Jill was still in the bar, and she glared at him through her glasses. _

_"Hmph, I knew you would pull some stupid trick like that, I'm not dumb enough to fall for your schemes, pretty boy." Jill said harshly. "And now for your downfall." She lunged at Skye, but Skye simply sidestepped her attack and Jill fell face first onto the wooden planks of the bar._

_"Right, my downfall. Well, it looks like you're very unlucky today." Skye smiled triumphantly at the girl who was still on the floor. _

_"You just got lucky, I'll really give you a beating once I get up!" The girl sprung up, but then, the thief did something that she had never expected._

_"CHICK-BEAM...FIRE!"_

_Jill was frozen and couldn't move a muscle."Huh? What the hell?" Jill exclaimed. She tried to move, but she couldn't. It was all so unreal to her. Skye just chuckled and he passed her, making his way behind the counter. He started taking bottles off their shelves and placing them in his sack._

_"Why are you a thief? Is it just for fun?" Jill asked forcefully. Skye shrugged._

_"Not for fun, but maybe for something else." Jill groaned at Skye's useless answer. _

_"You want to know more about me, don't you?" Skye turned to face Jill. "But you know, if I simply tell you that'll take the mystique out of our relationship." Skye said. _

_"Relationship? What relationship? we have nothing between us! I hate you, and you hate me! That's all there is to it!" Jill replied angrily. _

_"That's what I meant by relationship; our relationship of hate. Well, anyway, just be quiet, I need to concentrate." Skye said to the frozen girl._

_"Ugh, go die in a well or something."_

_"Hehe, by the way," Skye smirked, "Claire and I just had a date two days ago, and she acted as though she didn't care that I was a thief at all! She didn't even mention it! You know what that means? It means that when you told Claire that I was a thief, she accepted it, and she still loves me! Nothing you said to her had any affect!" Skye stuck his tongue at Jill._

_"That's because I didn't tell her." Jill replied flatly. Skye looked at her with bewilderment._

_"You...didn't? But...why? I thought you wanted to ruin our relationship."_

_"It's not my place to tell. Besides, Claire adores you, and I don't know when she'll ever find a guy she likes so much again, and I don't want to ruin her happiness. Anyway, she'll find out eventually if you keep stealing, so when she finds out, it'll be all your fault, and you'll regret keeping this a secret." Jill explained. Skye stared at her, this time with admiration._

_"Wow, you must be a really great friend." He said._

_"We're like sisters, I'd do anything for her if it makes her happy."_

_"Hmmmm, well, I guess time's up. I'll see you again, I have a feeling I will. Now, farewell." Skye left the bar casually, and right after, the bartender and barmaid burst through the door. Jill could move again, so when she did, she gasped for air._

_"Jill! We found this plate of curry, and we think that it may belong to the thief! He's planning something-" Jill cut Muffy off for the second time that day._

_"He left already, you dunderheads!"_

_"Wait, what? Are you saying that he's come and gone? Gone like the wind?" Muffy asked, shocked that he had already come to the bar. Jill nodded._

_"I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to do a thing. He put me into this spell that left me paralyzed and I couldn't move."_

_"That's alright. You did your best, so get some sleep now. We'll try to solve this problem out in the morning. Thanks for your help." Griffin said gruffly._

_"Yeah, thanks Jill."_

_At that, Jill left the bar just in time to see Skye disappear with the night._

* * *

The air around the thief and the farmer began to grow colder as they waited for Jill. Skye stood still, leaning on the side of the fountain, careful not to accidentally fall in. As the wind grew harsher, Skye suddenly had the urge to break into the building and check on Jill. But, he would be breaking his own rules, as he did say that he will only come to her aid when it appears as though she were caught.

Then, to his relief, Jill finally departed from the mansion; Skye had to hold in the urge to hug her and never let go.

"Okay, Skye, why the _hell _do you have to waste my time?" She asked him. Claire glanced at her, then at Skye. She wasn't too keen on interrupting the upcoming argument. Jill looked as though she were ready to tear something apart.

Apparently, the clever thief wasn't able to figure that out; so he smiled like an idiot.

"Well, I'm sure your happy about your first-"

"Happy? I don't think so! You waste my precious time, making me raid the villa, made me look like an idiot checking behind paintings for this key, and when I finally find the damn thing, all I find is a _key_!" Skye could certainly tell that Jill was pissed.

Jill approached the fountain, about to drop the key into its clear blue waters. "Are you still planning on winning this game?" Skye asked. Jill nodded.

"Duh, why the hell would I waste my time if I didn't want to?"

Skye shrugged. "Well, then I suggest you keep that key. It'll be very important for your next task." And with that, Skye left, disappearing with the night.

* * *

The farm was unusually quiet this morning. The animals were gritting their flat teeth against the walls of the barn, frustrated by the strange delay of their five minute late breakfast. Their farmer had never been late before, not even a second. Where was she?

Well, the farmer was curled in her bed quietly in peace, until a certain blonde farmer felt the need for some action in this quiet farm.

"WAKE UP!" Jill felt as though she had fallen from a cliff. But when she awoke, she realized that it wasn't cliff she had fallen off of, it was her own bed. Claire had pushed her out of bed. "Geez, you sleep like the dead, Jill." she said. She offered to help Jill up by lending her hand for Jill to hold.

"Hmph, well you didn't have to spend all night looking behind paintings for a key just to find another one." Jill protested.

"I guess so. Well anyway, can I have a real breakfast? I'm starving." Claire proclaimed, rubbing her stomach.

Jill walked over to the small fridge in the corner of the kitchen. She took out a small carrot and a leek and walked over to Claire handing the leek and carrot to her. "Okay, no problem, here's your breakfast." Jill smiled and headed towards the front door. "I'm not hungry, so I'll start work now."

Claire just gaped at her; she was amazed at how little food Jill could survive on, and missed the days when she used to have a hearty breakfast full of pancakes, waffles, cake (in the morning), and of course chocolate. Everyday. But now, she had to suffer and eat vegetables for breakfast, fruits for lunch, and store-bought soup for dinner. It was too much torture for this girl. Too much. Jill was a horrible cook, Claire knew that, but why the torture?

Well, let's get back to the story.

After Claire had finished her breakfast (it took her three seconds) she headed out of the barn to help Jill with work. When she got out, she saw a woman walk towards her. Although Claire hadn't seen her in months, she instantly knew who it was. It was hard not to recognize her with her black headband and curly blond locks surrounding stunningly bright green eyes.

"Hey, Muffy. How have you been?" Claire asked. Jill was watering the plants until she finally noticed that Muffy was there. Jill walked over to the scene.

"Fine, but can I ask you two something?" Muffy looked serious as she looked at the girls with her piercing green eyes.

"Ummm...yeah." Jill replied, glancing at her watch. Precious time was being wasted, so she wanted the conversation to end quickly.

"Well, here's the thing, I heard that you went over to Lumina's house the other night to help, but she told me that the thief still came, and it was as though you two hadn't helped her at all. The farmers glanced at each other.

"What?" they both replied in unison.

"But, we were both there, and we made sure that the thief didn't come inside the house. How could he have stolen something without us knowing. Maybe Lumina lost whatever she thought that was stolen." Jill replied. Muffy shook her head.

"No, Lumina told me that this item was really important to her, and she hid it well. She's really freaked out about the possibility of it being stolen too. The poor thing, she looked as though she were about to melt into a puddle. I heard her grandmother wasn't very happy about it..." Muffy droned on and on, the girls stopped listening long ago because they both knew that Muffy was the biggest gossip in the valley.

"Jill, Skye didn't steal anything, right?" Claire whispered to the other farmer. Jill shrugged.

"I didn't see him steal anything, unless he stole the item before we came." Jill whispered back.

"So anyway, what do say?" Muffy said, cutting the conversation between the two girls.

The girls looked back at the barmaid. "About what?" Jill asked, puzzled.

"Let me guess, you weren't listening, were you?" Muffy glared at the two girls.

"Ummm..."

"Well, I asked you two if you could watch over the bar for me tonight. Griffin is at Mineral Town for today, and I'm meeting my new boyfriend there too, so, please? Just ten to twelve, I promise." Muffy said with pleading eyes. Jill shrugged.

"Whatever, I have nothing to do anyway. How about you Claire? Claire?" Claire seemed to be in a sort of trance.

"There's...food at the bar...right? Real food? Not just...vegetables or fruits or soup. Like...meat or something?" Jill and Muffy exchanged glances.

"Um, yes. There's some food in the cabinets behind the counter if you want some." Muffy replied. Claire grinned broadly.

"Okay, we'll totally do it!" Claire skipped away to continue working on the farm, and the two girls were left standing and staring at the odd farmer.

"Well, I hope I didn't ask for too much. So, bye!" Muffy left the farm, and Jill stood still.

"Wait, Muffy!" Jill yelled, trying to get the barmaid's attention. Muffy turned her head to face Jill. "Yes?"

"What does your boyfriend look like?" Jill asked.

"Oh, he was wearing a jacket with a hood over his face, so I had no idea what he looked like. But he was really nice, so that's why I'm dating him. Why are you asking?" Jill ignored her last question.

"Thanks, that's all I needed to know!" Jill ran towards Claire. "Claire! Guess what?" Jill exclaimed, once she was within earshot of the farmer.

"What?"

"The game! It's at the bar! Skye disguised himself as a different person so that he can pose as Muffy's 'boyfriend'! He knew that Griffin was leaving the bar, and that Muffy would get us to watch over it so that we can play the game! It makes sense!" Jill exclaimed.

"...So you want me to hide another random thing for you to find again; am I right?" Claire shuddered at the thought.

The last time she did that, she decided to hide a cucumber in the tree that's branches loomed over the Turtle Pond. It wasn't a very good idea, but it was too late for Claire to realize it because she had already fallen into the pond filled with snapping turtles. It was right then and there that Claire realized that not only were cucumbers gross; they were unlucky.

"Yes, can you?" Jill asked.

Claire nodded slowly. "Er...I guess so..."

* * *

Hopefully those two farmers aren't that stupid. They _had _to figure out that I was the one that sent the bartender and barmaid away for our game. Hopefully Muffy told them to watch over the bar. I've been sitting here waiting behind the counter of the Blue Bar for about five minutes, and they still haven't come. _They're so late. Precious time is being wasted. _I sat on the counter, reminiscing the day I robbed The Blue Bar of all of its contents. _Or just the Okuhattan at least._

I sighed, once in a while glancing at the clock that hung on the wall next to me.

_Skye, tell me, what is up with this obsession of yours all of a sudden? And what's with that key-_

"Shut up." I said. Ugh, probably that voice-in-my-head trying to find out my plan.

_No, I will not shut up until you-_

The door swung open and two girls stand there side by side. Jill and Claire had finally arrived. "Well, hello ladies. I reckon you got the clue? Hopefully that barmaid told you to come here."

"Yeah, she did. But we only have two hours to do this, so hurry up and tell me what I'm supposed to be looking for. And it better not be another key!" Jill said hastily.

"Goddess, no, it's not a key. I'm not that repetitive. You'll be looking for a wine bottle, and this wine bottle has a note inside that will help you in my next challenge for you. You brought the key, right?" I asked.

Jill nodded, pulling out the key from the pocket of her jeans. "Excellent. Claire and I will be waiting for you near the well, and like last time, try not to get caught." I waved and started my way towards the door with Claire following.

"Wait a minute. Just answer this one question; Did you steal anything from Romana's mansion without me knowing?" Jill asked before I left. I simply turned my head around and smirked.

"You'll know soon enough." Then I left the opened the door and stepped outside.

"Well, here goes nothing." I heard Jill mumble to herself as I closed the door.

* * *

Stupid Skye. Stupid him, and his stupid silver hair. Stupid leopard print jacket, and his stupid thieving ways. Why can't this bastard get a real job? Why do I even _care_?

"Claire, do you want to tell me something?" I jump when I hear Skye's voice.

"No, why?"

Skye shrugged.

"I just got a feeling that you did."

I nod mindlessly and turn around to face the well. Memories flash, but I don't wish to recall them. It was horrible, and it included this very well. "So, why do you want Jill to play this game of yours?" I asked curiously.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." he replies, not turning around to face me. I shrug.

"Whatever."

I hear owls hooting and the sound of creatures rustling in the grass. The stars are flickering overhead, and I can't help but want to lean my head against Skye and tell him how beautiful tonight is. But, I can't do that.

He isn't mine.

* * *

You're probably thinking that it would be easy to find a wine bottle with no liquid and only a note inside. Plus, this wine bottle is hidden in only one possible room, and you have two full hours to look for this thing.

If that's what you thought, you are totally wrong.

But the hard part wasn't because the wine bottle was hidden well; it's the pressure that makes it so damn difficult. _Where is it? _

I take almost every bottle off its shelf to see if there's anything besides liquid in it.

No progress. It's already been about thirty minutes and I'm only halfway through the bottles on the first shelf. "Damn it, damn it, damn it." I whispered to myself as I grabbed more bottles off the shelves. I swear, I will win this game even if it takes me all night.

Time passes; I don't need a clock to tell that an hour had passed. _Come on Jill..._

I got so frustrated I started throwing the bottles all over the place. As I throw them, they crash onto the wooden floor and glass shards start flying all over the place. I hear liquor splashing as it hits the ground.

"Wait a minute. What am I doing?" I look down at the broken bottles and the liquor that was spilled all over the wooden planks.

_This isn't my bar; I have to clean it up. _I crouch down and take the dust pan from underneath the counter. I don't care if I don't have any time left to look for the note. I can't let the bar be left with a mess I didn't clean up.

Before I get up though, a metal box hidden under the dustpan catches my eye. I pick it up; something in my guts just tells me that I'll need it. But when I try to force the metal box open I see a keyhole. I take the key out of my pocket and adjust it into the hole.

"Damn you, Skye. All this time I've been breaking bottles for nothing." I open the lid and inside is a wine bottle, but like the thief promised, a piece of paper was folded and placed inside of it.

"Bingo."

I look around for the wine key Muffy always uses for work, and find it placed on the shelves behind me. I use the corkscrew to uncork the bottle, and it opens without ease. Using two fingers, I slide the paper out of the bottle, and take it out, sighing.

"Finally. Success." I sighed in relief as I shoved the paper into the pocket of my blue jeans.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: I think I sort of rushed this chapter a little. *sigh* I guess I was just so determined to get it in by today I almost made half the story dialogue. Well, I hope it at least satisfies you enough to continue reading. I'll try to make the next chapter less rushed, and I'll try to get it in sooner. Chapter five isn't even half done yet though, so an even longer wait is coming. Thanks for reading and please review! **

**Edited & Revised  
**


	5. Revelations

**Author's Usual Long Note: Now, I bet some of you are wondering why I had a year long hiatus on this story. To put it simply, I lost interest in Harvest Moon once I started getting hooked on Vocaloid (those songs are addictive).**

***gasp* A (extremely obsessive and geeky Skye) fan of Harvest Moon actually **_**moving on**_**?**

**And not only that, but my sixth-grade writing teacher is very demanding. She made us write an essay, like, every week. But I'm not going to hold back on saying that I have improved greatly after that painstakingly long year. So, unfortunately, this story had to be put to a delay for homework.**

**But now I'm back! :D I've edited and revised (well, not really) the chapters before this to clean up the cluttered writing and grammatical mistakes. **

**So, I hope you don't hate me! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Five  
Revelations**

_Weird gray hair._

_Ugly-looking jacket._

_Out-of-place purple pants._

_Huge black sack._

_"It's Skye!" Jill whispered to herself as she took cover behind one of the many jewel plants (if there was any actual name for them, Jill didn't know it). _

_Skye turned to see where the noise had come from. Smirking, he rolled his eyes. "I know you're there, Claire."_

_It was Jill's turn to roll her eyes."What makes you so sure of that?" Jill asked in her best attempt at a Claire impersonation._

_"Why so shy?" Skye purred. It made Jill want to puke, but she still kept up the charade._

_"Because I want you to come here." Jill continued. '_So that I can break your arm.' _she completed the sentence in her mind._

_Shrugging, the thief walked over to where Jill was._

_"Woah, wait a minute-" Before Skye could continue, Jill tackled him, and they both fell down with the brunette positoned right above the thief. _

_Looking up at the her, Skye's face turned a little red. "This is sort of an awkward position." He mumbled. _

_Jill also blushed and pushed her self off of him. "Psycho...don't get any weird thoughts..."_

_Skye rolled his turquoise eyes. "Like I'd have any weird thoughts of _you_. Four-eyed dorks and handsome thieves don't look good together." Skye smirked, hoping to offend the girl._

_Jill adjusted her glasses a little and smiled evilly. "Glad we agree that that will never happen." _

_Skye clenched his fists. How on earth could he offend this stubborn girl? Why was she still talking to him without any source of fear?_

_"So, I heard you've been going on dates with Claire." She said slowly. Skye was a bit surprised by her change in behavior. _

"_Yeah. We went out to the inn over at Flower Bud." Skye replied._

_Jill nodded. "She told me. Did you steal anything over there?"_

_Skye shook his head. "No. I don't want to risk my identity to Claire." _

"_Good choice. Otherwise I would have to take you to jail right now." Jill stated casually._

_Skye laughed. "Oh really? What makes you so sure that you'll catch me?" _

"_This!" Jill pinned him to a tree, his wrists held tightly by her small hands._

"_Will you ever learn? CHICK-BEAM FIRE!" he yelled. _

_Jill sulked a little, noticing that she had been frozen by Skye's spell once again._

"_Aw man..." she mumbled in a surprisingly _cute _and_ feminine _voice. The thief began to feel a little remorseful for her as he escaped from Jill's grip. The expression on Jill's face, even though he could only see half of it (thanks to the oversized glasses), made him feel a little bad._

_Hesitantly, he lifted the spell, and Jill could move again._

"_Wow, you're gullible." Jill pushed him into the pond. She rolled in the grass trying hard to repress her loud laugh._

"_Ssssh! I'll get caught!" Skye hissed. For a loud and unfeminine laugh, he thought it sounded cute...wait. What?_

_Shivering, he glared up at the girl. "Dammit, now you messed up my hair..." he growled, running his long fingers through his platinum hair._

"_Whatevs." She said, holding her hand out towards Skye. He did not understand the gesture, and looked up at her skeptically. Jill caught on to this and rolled her eyes (although you wouldn't be able to tell)._

"_I'm offering to help you. You need to get out more." She smirked. Skye finally placed his hand in hers, and despite just being pushed into a pond in the middle of the night, he instantly felt...warm._

_After helping him out, a gentle smile crossed his face. "Thanks."_

_A tint of pink came across her face as she shyly smiled back._

"_You actually smiled." Jill said, observing Skye's face. _

"_I'm pretty sure you've seen me smile-"_

"_But never a real one." Jill interjected. Skye blinked a couple of times._

"_I...guess not."_

_They exchanged small smiles as they looked at each other. _

Maybe...this isn't so bad._ Skye thought to himself._

_

* * *

_Goodness, I hope she isn't drinking in there...she's taking way too long. I look up to the stars to satisfy my boredom, but I secretly hope she comes out before two hours...then again, I don't even have a watch...

"Hey, Claire?" I avert my gaze to the blond farmer. She turned her head towards me.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how much time has passed?"

"Ah, ummm...like, an hour and a half." She replies, glancing at her watch. I nodded, and faced the stars again.

_What a nice night...so peaceful and quiet-_

"HA, I WIN AGAIN BASTARD!" But I guess it can't be like that for long while Jill is around...

"You know, I would've been happier if you had just been a littler quieter like last time." I'm starting to think that she's better off angry.

"Yeah, well, I win, so now-"

"Who said you won? It's just the beginning you know." Jill's jaw dropped once I said that.

"So you're saying that...I have to keep this piece of paper for the next task, am I right?"

"Yes." I replied calmly. Jill sighed.

"I thought that this would end already."

A minute of silence passes. Claire is the first to speak.

"So, before we leave...can I get a snack from the bar?" Claire asked. I shrugged.

"Do whatever you want, I'm leaving for now anyway." I turned away from them, and ran out of sight.

And for some reason, I had a feeling that Jill was watching me leave. I didn't have to look back to know that.

* * *

"You think you're so cool, flinging me out of bed, dropping the dog on me, then the cat, telling me the house is on fire, and sitting on me, all because you want me to wake up? Well, this time is different. Because I'm the one taking charge this morning, so beware, blondie." Jill said quietly to herself.

She was on a mission. To literally annihilate her temporary roommate's "beauty sleep". Just like she had been to Jill over the past few days.

While she knew she was not a master at these things, she remembered a few tactics Skye had taught her once.

"Alright, I have to remember to whisper, tiptoe, watch my feet, always creep along the wall opposite of the bed, if anyone is sleeping..." Jill listed them off and when she was done, she started her mission. Revenge.

She crept slowly, taking small steps towards her goal.

But when she was only one step away from accomplishment, the floorboard creaked from under her weight, and not so soon after did Jill find her foot stuck underneath the wooden floorboard.

"Damn it." Jill cursed her luck. How the hell did that happen?

"Did you really think that you would be able to defeat me, the prank master?" Jill heard a familiar voice. She looked up and saw a devil grinning at her.

"You broke my floorboard just for that?" Jill replied coolly. Her Death Glare was on high power. Claire gulped.

"I knew you were going to attempt to get payback for the other two mornings, so I had to defend myself from your attack."

"CLAIRE..." Jill seethed, her teeth gritting against each other. With a paled look on her face, Claire looked around to see what she could do to divert Jill's attention elsewhere before she was attacked.

And to Claire's relief, a knock was heard. "I'll get that." Claire jumped out of bed quickly, and opened the door. Muffy stampeded in, flames swirling in her usually calm green eyes.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU WATCH OVER MY BAR LAST NIGHT?" Muffy exclaimed furiously.

"EH? But we did! I'm sure that nothing was stolen..." Claire stepped back in surprise, turning towards Jill.

"Yeah. Nothing." Jill said. She knew that she had cleaned up the huge mess of broken glass, and Jill had left enough money to pay for all of them. Muffy shook her head, her blond curls bouncing.

"It may not have been money or wine, but _it _was stolen." she said calmly.

"It?" Jill asked curiously. The two farmers exchanged glances. Muffy turned to leave. "I have to tell Flora." The girls heard the barmaid say as she left.

"Well, what was that all about?" Claire asked, just as befuddled as Jill was.

"It means that that's our cue." Jill replied. Claire stared at her.

"What's our cue?" she asked the brunette farmer.

"It may not be evident, but Skye's next task is at the Excavation Site. I just know it. He probably knew that Muffy was going to warn Flora, and the traps intended for him, will be for me."

Claire gasped.

"Wow, I never knew that you were actually smart enough to figure something as complex as that." Claire clasped a hand over her mouth, but the damage had already been done.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? YOU BREAK MY FLOORBOARD AND NOW YOU INSULT ME?"

Whoops.

* * *

After the very painful, but thankfully short abuse from Jill, (couple of smacks from a dictionary that came out of nowhere) I finally made my escape.

"Gee...I never knew words could hurt so much." I gasped out. I collapsed onto the ground. I shut my eyes tight, and rubbed the places she hit me: the head, arms, and stomach. Jill is a very dangerous woman, I swear that I'll never say anything like that again.

I got up in a sitting position after that, and looked to see my surroundings; I was at the Goddess Pond. It was a cool day, and the sun hid behind many dark clouds that floated across the dull, gray sky..._Skye._ Automatically, I pictured _him. _No, I _remembered_ him_._

A loving smile etched across his face; a fake one, but I didn't know that. When he did have a genuine smile, he would showcase it only to Jill, but I didn't notice that either. _Why? Why did it have to end?_ I remember asking myself that everyday after _that_ incident happened. Why didn't he love me? I may never know, but somewhere, deep in my heart-

"Well, I sure wasn't expecting to see you here." I turned, and coincidentally enough, there he was; in flesh and everything. Which, was ironic. And depressing.

"Skye..." I trailed off. It felt great having his name escape my lips. I wish Jill actually realized how lucky she was to be loved by someone as perfect as Skye. _Or how unlucky she was._

"So, where's Jill?" Of course he had to bring _her _up. Or, no, I mean...bah, who cares!

"We found out about the location your next escapade will be." I said, changing the subject. Skye raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Already so early in the morning?"

I nodded. "It's at the Excavation Site, obviously." Then, he _chuckled. _

"Well, that's only _one_ part of it." he said.

I looked at him with my eyebrows creased in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

He laughed to himself again, and changed the subject.

"Well then...tell me. How have you been?" He asked casually. I looked at him with wide eyes. I sure wasn't expecting him to actually care or anything.

"I've...been better." I was speaking the truth, for only a few moments ago I was being hit with books that I didn't even know Jill had. Skye nodded.

"I can tell by the pieces of torn paper in your hair."

I ran my fingers through my long hair only to find out that he was right. One by one as my petite fingers passed by, the pieces fluttered into the clear blue pond. I watched as they floated on the surface of the pool, then go down...and the pond sparkled. How nice...

Wait...sparkled? Apparently, the thief had also noticed this and faced the cerulean water as well. Neither of us seemed to know what was happening here. And to make things even weirder, a green-haired (yes, _green)_ woman appeared, rising from the water in a slow, dramatic pace; you know, like in movies. Her eyes were closed during this time, as if she had just been awakened from a deep slumber. (And it freaked the shit out of me)

Then, when she was completely out of the water, she spoke. "JILL! YOU FINALLY CAME! I HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT THE THIEF IS DOING NEXT!" Her voice was loud and high-pitched; it slightly reminded me of a banshee.

Skye and I stayed silent, not knowing what to do next. This woman was not normal, from the looks of her entrance (and green hair). After hearing no reply, her eyes popped open, revealing deep emerald eyes. She stared at us for a minute.

"Okay, who the hell are you, and what do you want with Jill?" I asked, not hesitating to be rude. The strange woman glared at me. This was nothing compared to Jill's glares, so I wasn't frightened.

"I am the Harvest Goddess, and my business is not to be shared with you. If you are a friend of Jill, tell her to get her ass here before I go over there myself." the 'goddess' said.

"I'm her best friend, and I'll be sure to pass on your message to her if you could tell me." I replied.

"NO! This is something only Jill must hear, so fetch her for me, human." she shouted. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole valley heard this strange woman. Then, the silver-haired thief speaks up;

"What about me? You said that you had to tell her something about what I'm doing next."

The woman turns to face him. When I didn't think anything worse could happen, it did. The goddess seemed to turn even more red from anger than she already was.

"YOU!" she cried. She grabbed Skye by the collar, and went back down into the depths of her pond with him. And I stood frozen and wide-eyed. Bewildered at what to do next.

* * *

Flexing her fingers, she groaned and stared straight into the hot sun. _What's the use in looking for her? Claire will come back anyway. She's probably hungry._ Jill continued to till the soil, and proceeded to scatter small turnip seeds all over the exposed ground.

"Well, it's her fault after all. She broke my floorboard." The brunette mumbled to herself as she walked past her fields. Something bright caught her eye in the distance, and she saw that the light was coming from the direction of the Goddess Pond.

"Eh. Something fell in there." Jill said, shrugging off the sudden event. She was aware of how easy it was to contact the goddess. After all, if one thing comes into contact with the water, it summons her. Jill had done that many times before.

The field were covered in full grown plants and other greenery, and the sun was bright and high in the sky. Today, there were no clouds, so the sky was like a clear blue ocean floating high above everyone. Jill was glad she moved out of the city. She never would've taken note of this beautiful day while living there.

Looking back towards the Goddess Pond, she was reminded of the day she and Skye had become..._friends_.

"Friends..." Jill mumbled to herself as she continued her work. Why did the word seem too bland to describe the relationship between she and Skye?

Shrugging off the thought, Jill could've sworn she heard yelling. Again at the Goddess Pond. A vaguely familiar voice was heard, then switched to a more familiar voice, then an even _more _familiar voice. Something was not right. A splash was heard in the distance, and the girl literally threw her scythe at the ground, leaving the blade stuck underneath the dirt.

"DAMN IT. I GIVE UP." Jill couldn't ignore the strange feeling anymore, and went on her way towards the pond.

_This had better be damn important or else I'm blaming it on Goddess._

_

* * *

_I must say; when I woke up this morning, I expected this to be a nice start of the day. With me visiting Jill, having a talk at the beach like a long time ago, and us eating my curry (Emphasis on _my curry_, I would never touch anything made from Jill no matter how much I loved her). But, I never expected to be dragged into a deep 'pond' (I doubt this is a pond now; I'm like hundreds of feet below the surface) and still be _alive_. This isn't your average day, is it?

I looked across the room to see the weird lady staring straight at me with bloodshot eyes. But then again, she's just another woman...

"Well, I didn't expect someone as beautiful as you to be taking out her anger on me. Anger shouldn't be wasted on the beautiful, you know."

She glared at me. _Hard_. I gulped. No one except Jill has ever been able to withstand me, the handsomest guy in the valley (Oops, I mean, _whole world_). There was something wrong with this picture.

"Well. You're that man who's been teasing Jilly, right?" Her eyes were no longer red, and she looked more calm than I had seen her all day. Perhaps my charms were working.

"I wouldn't say teasing. More like poking fun at her." I replied. The woman seemed to be losing her patience on me.

"Well, that _certainly _makes a _difference_." she said sarcastically. Her hand was still clenched around the collar of my shirt, and it seemed as if she were ready to kill me at any moment.

"Ummm...so who are you?" I asked, still trying to figure out how any of this was actually real.

"You don't recognize the voice?" She asked, smirking deviously. My ears perked up when she said that.

_That annoying voice...Jiminy...Cricket? _

I thought I had said that in my head, but somehow, she heard.

"YES. JIMINY CRICKET. COMIN' BACK TO YA?" she asked, her voice getting lower and lower until she sounded like a monster.

"So...I'm not crazy for hearing your voice, right?" I guess things were getting better. I found out that the weird voice wasn't my imagination. The Goddess shook her head slowly, and finally let go of my jacket.

"...No." She responded. Pursing my lips, I looked up at the watery surface above. I never imagined doing anything this weird when I first got to this valley.

"Then, what's your relation to Jill?" My eyes wandered back to her, waiting for a response.

Her eyebrows furrowed as if she were thinking of a way to reply.

"I don't know exactly...but I'm close enough to be concerned about her..." the 'Goddess' trailed off.

"Well...time for me to go. Buh-bye." I turned my head toward the ceiling (or water if that makes sense) trying to come up with an escape plan.

"**NO.**" I did a double-take. This chick was getting scarier and scarier by the second.

"...No?" I asked meekly. What could she possibly want from me? Sighing, I plopped myself onto one of the chairs in this...room (how the furniture was completely dry, I will never know).

"Now, before you cut our last conversation, we were discussing this plan of yours. Tell me what it is, or you might as well say farewell to life above." She pointed upwards.

"CHICK-BEAM FIRE!" I shouted, with a smug look on face...but that look didn't last for long when she laughed at me.

_Laughed at me. _Yes. She was _laughing hysterically _and all the while with her hand _moving_ to point at me.

"Kid, that cheap magic trick won't work on me. Now, the 'brilliant plan' you've concocted, if you will." She said after repressing her fit of giggles.

No. Fucking. Way.

This was _not_ happening.

There was no way I was underwater, talking to the voice-in-my-head in flesh, and having this...'Goddess' withstand my perfected art. There was only one conclusion to this.

"I'm dreaming." I said to myself quietly, but loud enough for the 'Goddess' to hear.

"Awww...how cute. Is it because your only means of escape didn't work for you for once? Sorry, but your only option is telling me your pla-"

And, before finishing her sentence, she was blasted out of the water and back to the surface, leaving me all alone.

I sat there for a couple of minutes, both my mouth and eyes were wide open.

"It's official. I'm dreaming."

* * *

Works every time. Pebbles, twigs, leaves, live turkeys (that was an accident on my part), and weeds. There was nothing that wouldn't bring the Goddess out. Whether she liked it or not.

"Jill, are you sure that_ dirt_ will make her come out?" Claire asked skeptically. I nodded, continuing to kick at the ground and letting the dust fall into the water.

"Trust me. There's nothing that _won't_ make her come out." I said, reassuring Claire. After I got that weird feeling and ran over here, Claire had told me about the whole ordeal. And now that Skye was trapped underwater, that meant he would never come back. But why was I helping?

Oh yeah. Because of Claire's incessant complaining:

"_We have to get him out! He'll drown!" _She says.

"_That lady looked at him wrong!"_ Since when did she care?

"_How will we explain this to the government?" _I'm pretty sure the government isn't concerned with one of their threats being dead.

After all of that (plus more I don't care to think about) I had to find a way to get her to shut up.

And saving Skye was the only option.

He'd better damn_ worship_ me after I'm done saving his ass.

Suddenly, the pond radiates and almost makes me go blind. Which is unusual.

And if I know her well enough, it usually means that the Goddess is pissed.

"I-It wasn't this bright the first time!" Claire exclaimed, also shielding her eyes from the brightness.

And faster than ever, the Goddess finally came out.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" She boomed louder than ever.

"H.G., hand us the thief." I said calmly. "What could you possibly want with an idiot like him?"

Glaring at me, she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is for your good, you know. He's planning something...but I don't know what." she replied.

Planning something? Other than the game? This I wanna know...

"I'll interrogate him for you." I smirked slyly. Maybe I can get all my answers without going through the game.

Wide eyed, Claire looked at me. "But Jill! Whose side are you on?"

Shrugging, I placed my hands on my hips. "Well, aren't you acting a little weird today? If I knew Claire better, I would have thought she'd be the one to volunteer to torture Skye." I smiled coyly.

"Uh...well...I-I'll do it!" Claire jumped into the water, ignoring the look on the Goddess' face. But instead of going deeper into the Goddess' abode just as Skye had, she found out that she was only waist deep into the water, and all wet. I guess I should've warned her about that.

"You can't just jump in like that. Otherwise anyone would be able to go in and see the Goddess." I said.

"How did he get in here then? Maybe he's underneath...?" Claire bent down, feeling for him in the pond. Looking cross, H.G. tugged on the blond's hair.

"Has anyone ever told you to respect others' authority?" The Goddess asked, still tugging at the long strands of blond hair in her grasp.

"Oww! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Claire literally screamed, her arms flailing and splashing in the water. She quickly got herself out of the pond.

"Goddess, take a chill pill! Now give us the thief, and no one gets hurt." I was really getting irritated: this morning for the broken floorboard (which I'll have to pay for repairs) and now I'm stuck with this catty Goddess and whiny sidekick (yes, I have decided that I am the main character of this story). H.G. looked back at me with narrowed eyes, but her expression changed in an instant.

"How about I make a deal with you?" H.G. proposed. I cocked my head to the right, wondering what she was hinting at.

"Why?" I asked bluntly.

"Because it's a lot more fun to play two games at once, don't you think?"

I shook my head slowly. If this game was anything like the game Skye had for me, I wanted no part in it.

"Let's go, Claire, he can drown for all I care." My voice shook a little as I said that. Just a little.

"B-but...what about-"

"Wh-whatever." I muttered, my voice a little shaky. Seriously, what's wrong with me today?

"Well, alright then. Have fun never seeing him again." The Goddess glanced at her sharp nails with faux indifference to the problem.

"JILL!" Claire cried with her sapphire eyes wide with worry.

I started making my way towards the exit of the springs; too slowly for my taste. But my mind drifted to what Skye was doing at the bottom of that pond. Was he alright?

Unable to take the worry anymore, I turned towards the pond again.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked through my teeth. Will this torture ever end? I feel like a puppet being used to entertain. But, of course, this was all necessary to capture Skye, so I played along with it.

"I want you two, to convince the Witch "Princess" to give me what I've been longing for for 2,000 years." The Goddess stated.

Claire and I exchanged glances, as we usually did in each chapter of this repetitive story.

"2,000 YEARS?" We questioned in unison.

"I'm a Goddess, for Pete's sake! I age slower than humans. In fact, I don't age at all!" the Goddess rolled her eyes at our reaction.

"But, wait, what is it that you've been longing for_ two thousand _years?" Claire asked.

Before she could be answered, we were transported to the front of the Witch's Hut.

* * *

"Uh, knock, knock." Jill rapped on the door in response.

"What's with all these supernatural beings coming back to slap me in the face of reality after years of non-believing?" Claire asked, now questioning her sanity.

"Not my fault you're a non-believer. Haven't you read fairytales or folklore before?" Jill asked the blond.

Claire nodded her head. "I believed in fairytales until a certain fantasy romance ended." Claire looked away.

Jill, knowing not to bring the subject up, changed to a happier and less depressing topic.

"When we get home after the game...I was thinking that we could...you know...get some cupcakes from the Supermarket. If you want." All this time, as oblivious as she seemed, she did know of Claire's sweet tooth.

Claire's eyes brightened from the suggestion. "Who cares about Skye? Let's get to Mineral Town!" she chirped happily. Jill grabbed her sleeve before she could take off in another direction.

"But, like I said, after the game. And to do so, we'll have to save him first." Jill told Claire.

At that, Claire rammed her head to the door, the impact literally knocked the wooden plank off its hinges. Claire grinned back at her companion.

"Wow. You're a lot more useful at things when I offer chocolate." Jill whispered.

Stepping inside the hut, they were face to face with the Witch Princess.

"Jilly, nice to see you. Now, have you finally done that thing I've asked of you?" The Witch Princess smirked.

And with wide-eyes the brunette stared at the witch.

"Crap."

* * *

"So then, he just, like, totally flipped out and I was banished from this world. Not only that, but I was stuck with a bunch of pint-sized elves as company! It was nice at first to have them doing everything for me, but not 24/7! I mean, seriously? He called me old! What was I supposed to do? Let him insult me? If hair symbolized the vastness of his heart, he really would be bald!" The green-haired Goddess relayed her whole life's story to the thief, who was listening attentively as a therapist would.

You may be asking why they were sitting here, talking as friends, when they were just previously having an argument. No one knows.

"That's horrible! What could you have done to receive that kind of punishment?" Skye couldn't imagine being called "old" or having to live with elves.

"Well, you see, it dates back to the death of Jill's parents." The Goddess said, squinting her eyes in an attempt to remember the time.

"Death...of Jill's parents?" Skye's eyes widened. He had no idea-

"HA! Just kidding! I meant when they were put in jail!" The Goddess replied.

Skye's eyes widened even more. If that was possible.

"JAIL?"

The Goddess snickered at his reaction.

"Please, tell me you're joking!" Skye cringed when he saw the Goddess shake her head.

"Nope. I can't lie. Her parents are criminals. Like you. Except...a little more serious." She replied.

"No way..." Skye's voice trailed off, trying to figure out how the hell that was possible. The girl who claimed hated criminals...had _parents_ in jail?

"They didn't do anything too serious, right? I mean, _I'm_ supposed to be the only bad boy Jill knows, and now you're telling me her _dad _might be badder than me?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, didn't you find it suspicious that Jill wasn't scared of you when she found out you were a thief?"

That brought back memories. Jill had been the only girl he had ever met not to have a huge emotional breakdown when finding out he was a thief.

"It was as if...I were just some sort of rival. Not a criminal." He whispered the last part to himself.

Nodding her head, the Goddess continued, "Back at the city, her parents were leaders of a criminal syndicate. Jill never knew, but when she found out, it was too late because they were already being wheeled away to jail. More specifically, to their deaths."

"What did _they _do to deserve_ that_ punishment?" The thief was still surprised by all this.

"Well, they were murderers. With those kind of parents, it makes you look like a toddler stealing from a candy store to Jill." The Goddess giggled at her own remark, while Skye sat still, frozen from shock.

"A toddler...stealing from a _candy store_?" No one thought of him as that! That's too crazy!

Cackling, she rambled on, "But, luckily, they were saved."

"How?" The thief asked.

The Goddess paused for a second before continuing. "She asked for help."

"From you?"

She sighed before answering. "No."

"Then who?"

"Goodness, you ask way too many questions! I thought we were talking about _my_ life!"

"But this is way more interesting!"

Then, she responded in a booming voice, "**MY. LIFE STORY. FIRST.**"

Nodding quickly, Skye sat still to listen.

Perhaps _that's_ how they ended up talking in the first place.

* * *

And as if on cue, Claire had found herself facing the same realization as Skye.

"Your parents were _homicidal maniacs_?" The blonde exclaimed.

"Shut up and listen to the rest of the story." The Witch Princess snapped.

"H.G. couldn't help me get my parents out of the punishment-" Jill was, for the sixth time, interrupted.

"Who?"

"WOULD YOU FUCKIN' SHUT IT? SHE'S GETTING TO THE PART I COME IN!"

Gulping, the blonde shut up, and let Jill carry on with her story.

"It stands for Harvest Goddess. Anyway, I had to ask for help from dirty blonde here-"

"DAMMIT! Witch Princess! _Nawt_ 'dirty blonde'!"

Rolling her eyes, Jill ignored the fuming witch.

"She promised to help me on one condition." She took a long, deep breath, but before opening her mouth to continue, she was interjected. _Again._

"Gawd! Does it take that long for humans to breathe? Let me continue!" The witch complained. Without taking in any air, she continued Jill's story in super speed.

"'ssomelameprincessthat'sstillaliveandJillherehasn'tbroughthertomeyet.  
Imean,Isavedherdamnparents!It'sbeenawholefreakin'year,andshehasn''assuphere!"

"What the fuck?" Claire couldn't understand the gibberish coming out of the witch's mouth.

The brunette proceeded to translate the Witch's words."In order for her to save my parents, I had to promise to bring her back her old enemy from a thousand years ago. She lives like, a hundred miles deep in the mine! Why the hell would I waste my time doing that?"

"BECAUSE YOU PROMISED. You can't break the code of a PROMISE." The Witch Princess rolled her ruby eyes.

"But wait! Jill, while you're on that scavenger hunt at the excavation site, maybe you can look for the person there! I mean, she might be close to whatever Skye's hiding!" Claire concluded, waiting for Jill to compliment her on a job well done.

"The game can't start without Skye though! And to do that we have to..." Jill's voice trailed off for a second.

"Witch Princess, there's something the Goddess has wanted from you for like, two thousand years. You know what it is, right?" Jill asked the witch the sweetest voice she could muster.

"Well, duh. It's that teleport stone necklace hanging in the back over there," she pointed towards the back where the gold necklace hung on a small hook. "But I am _nawt_ giving it to you until you pay off the debt."

Looking back at the door, Jill sighed.

"I guess it's pointless then. We'll never be able to rescue Skye." And she slowly made her way towards the door.

"What? But we-" Claire sputtered out, oblivious to the smirk Jill had on her face as she turned away.

"No Claire. It's useless. Let's just give up." Continuing on her way out, Claire stood still for a moment, but ran to her side after a while.

"By the way, dirty blonde, I saw a walking teddy bear on my way here. It was at the beach." The witch gasped at what Jill had just said.

"DAN? !"

Claire raised an eyebrow, confused. "What are you talking about? We didn't walk h-"

Jill clasped her hand over the blond's mouth.

"If you care about the bear so much, maybe you should go check up on him." Jill had a fake grin plastered on her face. At her words, the Witch Princess left in a dash, leaving the two farmers alone in her hut.

"And now, the necklace." Jill smirked to herself as she sashayed over to the back of the room, and took the necklace off its hook.

Claire was impressed. "Woah. How did you get her to believe _that_?"

"Spending time with Skye does bring out useful skills." Jill said to herself.

"I really wish we could just teleport back to the pond." Claire said, placing one of her hands on the stone.

Suddenly, the pink stone glowed and the farmers were teleported directly in front of the Goddess Pond.

* * *

"Can we please get back on the subject of Jill's parents?" Skye begged. His head was about to explode from the Goddess' long, droning, boring...

"**NO.**" She boomed, going on about her life once more.

_Damn it. _Skye thought in his head. And to his relief, the Goddess was suddenly shot up into the world where things made sense, leaving the thief to finally have a few minutes of silence to himself.

* * *

The necklace sank deeper into the pond until the Goddess had once again appeared before the farmer's very eyes.

"That's the third time she's come out..." Claire mumbled to herself, staring at the Goddess.

The Goddess chuckled when she saw the necklace in her hands.

"Finally, something worth coming out for." She smiled at the two girls. "You may have your pretty boy back. And by the way, he's a really good therapist." She whispered the last part loud enough for the girls to hear.

The farmers glanced at each other for a moment.

"...Okay." Jill muttered.

A moment of awkward silence and staring had passed.

"So...you gonna get Skye?" Claire asked the Goddess cautiously. She knew that she was on bad terms with the Goddess for invading her pond.

She shrugged. "It was getting stuffy in there..."

"GO BACK AND GET HIM, DAMMIT! I WILL NOT WAIT ANOTHER SECOND!" Jill yelled furiously.

Cringing, the Goddess sank back into her pond, and rose back up with her hand gripping the thief's sleeve. She let go, and sunk back into her pond without any words of parting.

"I never thought I'd see the sun again." Skye whispered, his eyes directly on the hot orb.

"You never see the sun anyways..." Jill rolled her eyes as she helped him out of the pond. Skye grinned when he turned to look at Jill.

"Thanks."

A wave of deja vu came over them as Jill shyly smiled back, making the scene feel a whole lot more familiar.

"So, the game is on, right?" Claire asked. For some odd reason, she only felt the need to ask that obvious question just to avert Skye's attention away from Jill...

_Nah, I think I'm just sleepy. _Claire thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah. Definitely. Remember, it'll be tonight." He said, winking at the girls.

Claire felt herself blush a little. "Um, I'll just go ahead and head back to the farm." Claire sprinted away, leaving the thief and farmer staring at each other.

"This is my favorite place to go." Skye said, turning to look at the pond. Jill cocked her head to the side a little, confused as to why he brought the subject up.

"Why?" She asked.

"We first met here, we first became friends here, this is where I had finally realized my true feelings..."

"Feelings?"

Skye looked back at her. He smirked and began to walk away, hands in pockets.

"I'm not usually awake around this time, so I'll be leaving for some beauty sleep."

Skye drifted off to who knows where, with a disturbing thought stuck in his head. _Her parents were criminals..._

He clutched onto the weird item he had in his pocket, smirking. Whatever it was, he knew it was valuable to the Goddess, and he used this as revenge for keeping him cooped up in that pond for hours.

Still at the pond, Jill snickered. "_Beauty sleep_?"

* * *

**Aaand that's a wrap. I bet you were expecting this chapter to be at the Excavation Site where Skye will once again hide some item for Jill to find and-**

**Eh-hem. Lemme try to continue without spoiling anything. **

**HAHA! FILLER CHAPPIE! *shot* Erm, sucks after my year long absence huh? :( Sorry for getting your hopes up. But, hopefully I made it up by making this my longest chapter ever. Right? And I bet you weren't expecting the random tidbit about Jill's history, huh? I was going to save that info until the sequel, (Yes, I'm already planning a sequel even though I'm not even half-way through this story. Don't kill me?) But it was four in the morning, so my sleepy self decided to put that in anyway. **

**Well, you're probably wondering why I decided putting this chapter in. I looked back at my past chapters (which have no errors now, **_**thank God**_**) and I thought that it was getting too repetitive (you can probably tell that it was getting repetitive because the characters have broken the fourth wall in this chapter multiple times mentioning it...). So I put in this random shit chapter for fun, you like? *shot again* Truthfully, this isn't **_**totally**_** filler though, because Witch Princess will probably hold a great role later on (Nope, not in this story. The sequel I just mentioned). And if any of you were wondering, the item Skye stole from H.G. was that one plant...thing that raises your farm degree each day. Tricky, tricky...**

**Now, I shall leave, and hopefully update faster. (I feel bad for leaving you guys hanging)**

**Read and review to motivate me (or you can give me cookies)!**


	6. My Prince

**Author's Note: ****WTF. I came back. **_**I came back**_**. I CAME BACK. I. Came. Back.**

**Ahem, hello there :)**

**It's...been a while...but, I've managed to make it back to update. Amazing, right?**

**Anyway, I hope you don't hate MY GUTS right now, but I am just elated at the fact that I can start updating this again. I'm using my new netbook, so the only word processor available to me would be WordPad, which sucks since there's no spellcheck on it...**

**So please try to ignore any grammar or spelling mistakes I made, and hopefully you will enjoy the SIXTH chapter of **_**Skye's Game**_**. **

**R&R and thanks to those who stuck with me even during the year long absences and crap. :) I wuvs y'all.**

**BTW Damn, lots of POV changes in this xD Hope it doesn't confuse or annoy anyone reading this. It's just that there's a lot of interactions between the characters that I want to address as Jill progresses through her journey. I'm specifically referring to the conversation between Claire and SKye, which will undoubtedly be a very important factor in the future.**

**So, NOW please enjoy the next chapter of _Skye's Game_ that I have put off for so long -_-;**

* * *

**Chapter Six  
My Prince**

_The moon shone brightly against the dark canvas of the sky with white stars twinkling as the night progressed. A gentle wind blew over the quaint valley, and leaves of green flew amongst the wind, resembling a school of fish swimming along a current._

_It was around this time that a certain silver-haired thief walked briskly towards his destination. For once, instead of concealing himself within the shadows, he was out in the open, unconcerned about the possibility of getting caught. The man was much too preoccupied within his mind to think clearly about his actions._

I don't get it. That rumor..it can't be...it just can't be true...

_Skye ran his fingers through his long hair, his head whirring with the voices of the villagers gossiping about the newfound discovery that struck everyone to the core. His speed increased as he continued up the dirt path._

It's not true, it's not true, it's not true. _Skye thought to himself, repeatedly denying the harsh, cold statement that shook his spine. It couldn't be his Jill...right?_

Wait. HIS Jill?

_The thief stopped in his tracks, staring blankly into space, unaware of his surroundings, and instead immersed himself within the confinement of his thoughts._

_Nonononono. He didn't mean it like that. Jill was his FRIEND. F-R-I-E-N-D._

_FRIEND._

_Still, he stood there, unmoving. Friend? Why did the word feel so...bland._

_That word did not describe his relationship with Jill nearly as much as it was supposed to._

_After that day at the Goddess Pond, Jill frequently visited him at the same spot each night. Their conversations started out as small talk, but gradually became more and more prolonged until they would talk up to the point when the sun began to rise. During those nights, the girl and thief would laugh, poke fun at each other, and discuss their lives. As time passed, Skye found himself enjoying Jill's company considerably more than Claire's..._

What is wrong with me? I can't think like that... _He thought to himself, shaking his head. _I just became friends with Jill two weeks ago...and I've loved Claire for...months. _Skye didn't exactly remember how long he had been with Claire..._

Well, I met Jill three months ago, the same time I met Claire...

_Why was it that he could remember the time he met Jill more clearly than he could with Claire?_

_"Damn it, I need to focus..." Skye walked on, increasing his speed with each step until he broke out into a sprint._

_He found himself in front of a tent after a few minutes, and took a parchment out of the pocket of his jeans. He read it to himself quietly:_

"At midnight, I will be helping myself to the valuables in your tent.

Yours truly,

Phantom Thief Skye."

_The message was written with a silver pen on a thick black piece of paper. His signature took up more than half of the space provided by the paper._

_Wasn't it common knowledge to make certain that the person reading the letter would clearly remember your name?_

_Okay, not really, but Skye did enjoy writing his name in that BEAUTIFUL fancy handwriting of his..._

_He quickly led himself into the tent, and placed the letter within one of the sleeping bags. Hopefully his effort of creating a fake robbery would not be wasted. Sighing, the platinum-haired thief sauntered out of the empty tent with little trouble._

* * *

_Now the sun had risen into the light blue sky, like a golden disk among the sea. A small statured woman in overisized overalls and thick-lensed glasses skipped along the path perkily towards the Excavation Site. There she planned on delivering some tools to the archaeologists. No one could say for sure why Jill was in such high spirits, and neither could she. All she knew was that for some reason she looked forward to that night..._

_The brunette paused for a bit, a small hand on her hip, and her eyebrows furrowed. _

I wonder why Skye didn't come to the pond last night. _Her amethyst eyes stared up at the blue sky, still contemplating on Skye's absence. _It felt a bit lonely waiting for him...

_Shaking her head, Jill walked up to the tent, poking her head inside to check for the archaeologists. Flora and Carter were in the center of the tent, seemingly poring over a piece of paper Flora was clutching in her hands._

_"Hello?" Jill reluctantly invited herself in to make herself known. Carter looked up while Flora kept her eyes on the parchment._

_"Ah! Jill! Just the girl we needed!" Carter walked up to Jill, placing a hand on her shoulder._

_"I'm sorry, but there's a favor we need to ask of you-" Flora cut off Carter._

_"CARTER! Jill's busy taking care of the shipments and her farm! Don't be selfish!" The woman smacked the back of Carter's head with the paper. Rubbing the back of his head, Carter grinned sheepishly._

_"Now Flora." he seethed through his teeth. He glared at his assistant from behind his spectacles._

_"Hm? What's the matter?" Jill questioned. Her eyes flickered towards the paper in the assistant's hand, and she instantly knew what the dilemma was._

_"Skye." Jill whispered to herself flatly. Flora looked up at her, adjusting her glasses._

_"Why, yes. That's correct. It seems that we have gotten ourselves in quite a predicament here, involving the 'Phantom' ". Flora stated, nodding her head. _

_The brunette crossed her arms, and pursed her lips, deep in thought. "Damn, that thief..."_

_Despite the harsh words, Jill's voice held no air of hostility in it, and Flora seemed to have caught this fact._

_"...Is there something bothering you?" Flora asked suspiciously. _

_Shaking her head, Jill turned to face the other way. "Nope. Just irritated by this cocky bastard." She rebutted._

_Shrugging, Flora nodded slowly, still a bit suspicious. A grin set on his wrinkled face, Carter took the letter from his assistant._

_"Well, I've heard that you've been a great help in cornering the thief-" the professor was once again cut off._

_"We never got close to that point, professor." Jill said, now looking back at the two._

_"I suppose so, but after bumping into him twice now, do you think that perhaps you have an advantage?" Carter asked._

_Jill cocked her head to the side, and looked up at the ceiling, thinking over what he had said._

_"...Maybe." she stated plainly. _

_"Then, if you have no objections, would it bother you to come over around ten to twelve to help us capture the scoundrel?" Carter questioned. _

_Again, Jill absorbed herself in deep thought. There was a descision to be made._

_Skye, or her pride?_

_The thief had recently become a good friend of hers, but refusing to help her fellow neighbors would make her seem selfish._

_What to do, what to do..._

_"I'll help. I have nothing to do anyway." the brunette stated casually before making her way out of the tent._

_"Wait a minute!" Jill turned around to face Flora._

_"Is it true? You know, that rumor..." Flora asked._

_Jill furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean the one that EVERYONE'S been asking me about?"_

_Flora nodded. "I guess so. That's the only one I've been hearing."_

_"Then, yeah. It's true." Jill smiled brightly, and left the two archaeologists in utter shock and disbelief._

_When she was completely gone, the two exchanged glances._

_"...Wha?"_

* * *

Long strands of ebony graced the floor as she walked, her eyes downcast upon the dirt below her. Tugging at her long hair, the princess sighed warily, before kneeling down to pick up her finest treasure.

A sword, crafted thousands of years ago to the point of mere perfection, is what she held in her hands. The hilt was covered in rubies and shimmering gold, and the blade made of only the finest steel. With this sword, the girl could cut through great boulders and slice a fully matured cow cleanly in half with only one strike.

In fact, the room she was trapped in consisted of walls of only boulders. The woman had thought of this as an option to get her out of this hellhole many times before, but unfortunately, the sword would never be the solution. A curse was placed upon the cave she was confined in, disabling her ability of ever escaping.

So all she could do was sleep. It was sleep that temporarily whisked her away to a land far, far away from here. In her dreams, she saw herself running in fields of green, sniffing flowers of every kind, gliding across streams of cerulean, feeling the sunlight upon her body... A land of beauty that she had walked upon so long ago...

But that could never happen. It was a dream, not the future.

If only there was a prince that could rescue her from this personal hell of hers.

* * *

"WOW, WAT THE BUCK, _-hic- _CWAIRE?"

A red-faced and sweaty brunette made her way into the barn. She was greeted by the simultaneous mooing of her cows, and the giggling of her best friend, who was also in the same condition as she.

"Woah, you're SO STONED~" The blonde said in a sing-song voice. Jill groaned, and leaned against one of her many cows.

"Stoned? I'm DRUNK beotch..." she hiccuped. "What made you think it was _-hic- _a good idea to bring an unlabeled_ -hic- _bottle of alcohol into my house? _-hic-_"

Shrugging, Claire giggled again. "I dun know~ Ur cows are so pwetty..."

"GOD DAMMIT _-hic-_." Jill banged her head against the barn door, and stumbled closer to the blonde. Pulling at her long, gold strands of hair, Jill glared into her sapphire eyes.

"Speaking _-hic-_ of which, how come YOU'RE_ -hic- _drunk too?"

"I dun know~ Teehee, ur sheeps are SO fwuffy~" Claire attempted to hug one of the unsuspecting sheep, and was kicked right in the stomach by it. "Ow~" she cluthed her stomach tearily.

"Psssh. How come_ -hic- _you're actin' more drunk than_ -hic- _me anyway?"

"I dun know~ I always wantsss a pet puppy, y'know? So cute and happy~" Claire mumbled. She bent down to pick up Jill's beagle, Bud, who was currently sniffing Moomoo's sweet smelling, and fertilizer-like gift to the soil beneath them.

"_-hic- _Don't contaminate_ -hic- _the poor dog _-hic_-" Jill exclaimed, shoving Claire away before she could have a chance to touch it.

The tears in her eyes started forming big droplets. "B-but whyyyy~"

"Ya already have your -hic- own dog. Stooooopid." Jill rolled her eyes, but ended up feeling dizzy and fell on her back.

"HAHAH. FUNNAY JILL~always FALLING." Claire cackled before she too fell backwards.

About a night ago, Claire had decided on making a trip to the Blue Bar. For some strange reason, the blonde felt compelled to flood her distress in large amounts of alcohol...

Whatever that distress was, Claire couldn't say for sure.

All she knew was that a certain silver-haired man kept popping into her head after each shot of wine she took.

The girl had spent hours there, until Jill ruined her fun and dragged her companion back home.

The next morning, Claire had found herself still drunk from the night before, despite a long night's rest, and Jill found _herself _drunk from mistaking the bottle of whiskey Claire brought home as apple juice.

Resulting in two very drunk farmers, both of them still lying on their backs.

"Wow. _-hic_-. We're so stoned..." Jill mumbled.

"Psshaw. I told ya~!" Claire giggled maniacally.

At that moment, a woman stomped into the barn, her arms crossed over her chest.

Said woman was the archaeologist Flora: dressed in a simple green tank top and tan shorts. Her wavy, strawberry blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with an orange piece of fabric. Glaring at the two farmers through her rounded glasses, the woman sighed, placing a hand firmly on her hip.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I've come at the wrong time..." Flora trailed off, looking down at the mess before her.

Shaking her head slowly, Jill hesitantly got up, and leaned against the barn door for support.

"Wazzup_ -hic- _sista?" she slurred.

"Yah yah, wassssup~" Claire echoed, still on her back.

Uncrossing her arms, the archaeologist narrowed her eyes. "What exactly happened here?"

"No one knows. _-hic_-. Just go with the_ FloW_~" Jill lifted her arms up. The spectacled woman shook her head in disapproval, a deep scowl set upon her peach face.

"Erm...right. I _was_ going to ask you for a favor, but I'll come later, I suppose?" Flora asked.

"Yeah, we're like, SUPER busy right now, so DON'T bother us. GOSH." Claire lifted her head a few inches off the ground to stick her tongue at Flora.

Backing out of the barn, Flora pursed her lips, and left without another word. Jill fell onto her back once more, dizzy from standing up for so long.

The two girls lay there silently, waiting for _something _to happen. Moomoo, Patricia, and Mocha (Jill's cows) just turned their beady eyes down towards the farmers, stomachs grumbling.

The world was spinning, as Jill intelligently noted in her mind. Spin spin spin...

The cows were too. The spun like a carousel, slowly, but kept going around and around and around...

It's normal for the world to spin, right? Just like it's normal for Harvest Sprites to be real, Jill was sure of that...

...

Why won't it stop? Perhaps it was because she felt that there was something to be done, to be finished.

"Hey," Jill started, "Flora -_hic- _just came in. That's gotta _-hic- _means something, right?" she asked.

Shrugging, Claire grinned. "Teehee...Idk."

Rolling onto her side, Jill curled into a ball, thinking hard. But when you're drunk, and you try to think hard, it just doesn't work out, you know?

One second, Jill was thinking about Flora's reason for visiting the two girls...

Then the next thing you know, she's thinking about those cute monkeys that come out of those barrel..things.

"Hey Cwaire, you know those monkey -hic- things?"

"Yup yup. I thinks so~" Claire replied. Jill nodded, then shook her head. That wasn't important right now!

Jill let out a sigh of exasperation, her head still buzzed. Trying to think clearly, the brunette closed her eyes, trying to focus on what had happened that morning. Flora had stopped by, but for what? Still sprawled out upon the floor, Jill pondered on the thought. Though she was still drunk, her head could at least think a little about the matter.

_Flora. Flora. Flora. I know there's something I'm not getting. Flora. The girl with glasses. Archaeologist. Looked mad. Flora. Smart. Knows kung fu. Flora..._

Groaning, Jill clenched her fists. _What was it? There was something that needed to be done, and it involves Flora! But what?_

Jill opened her eyes to a view of the blue sky through one of the openings in the barn's ceiling.

_Sky. Blue sky. Nice sky. Very nice Skye..._

_Skye. Thief._

_Skye. Steals._

_Skye. Mansion._

_Skye. Blue Bar._

_Skye. Excavation Site._

_Excavation Site...Flora._

Her violet orbs widened. _Excavation Site, Flora. Skye! Game! SKYE'S GAME!_

The farmer leaped up from her spot. "Cuh-laire, we need to go!"

"Ehhhh~? she tilted her head to the side in her apparent befuddlement. "Like, now~?"

"Yes, right NAO." Jill grabbed the blonde's hand and helped her up, stumbling her way towards the door as fast as she could.

And she fell.

* * *

A tall hill overlooked the quiet atmosphere of Forget-Me-Not Valley. A light blue sky hovered above the valley, and white clouds passed by like a water brush gliding across a painting.

Atop that hill, was none other than the Phantom Skye, who patiently sat right above the Excavation Site, planning his next motive. The thief never got up this early, but feelings of anxiety tempted him to leave his small home to experience what was known as the "daytime": something Skye rarely got a chance to indulge himself in.

And he hated it.

Having been awake for two days straight, Skye was in a ruffled circles had formed underneath Skye's otherwise perfect eyes, and his skin was even paler than usual. His silver hair, which was usually combed to mere perfection, was now a bit matted at the ends and didn't hold as much of the silky texture it usually had. His leopard print shirt was wrinkled and covered in sweat from all the damn heat.

And for what?

Pure boredom, he supposed.

He had been on that hill, just thinking. No. _Watching. _

Watching her work on her farm. Watching the way she moved so gracefully (clumsily). The way she whistled happily while working...

You think that's "_stalkerish"_?

I'm appalled. How could you think like that?

It's much more than that.

It's _creepy_.

Ahem.

But in all seriousness, Skye was just content with the feeling of for once being able to admire Jill, without being beaten up by her for his behavior. He didn't care that his hair was messed up (okay, he did care a little) or that his skin was in poor condition (...actually...). Jill was the number one thing that kept him going (but then again, his fancy leopard print jacket...).

She was just so_ perfect_. How could he not have noticed before?

_Right, because of those ridiculous-sized glasses and ugly overalls she used to wear. _He thought to himself, smirking at the memory. But even then, Skye had begun to fall in love with her. The thief began to smile.

_She...was different from other girls, and I liked that. She didn't swoon over me the moment she saw me, and she never fell for any lie I used to feed her. I loved the feeling of having someone act normal around me (well, Jill isn't exactly normal, but close). Becoming enemies was easy, but becoming friends was much easier. I guess I can honestly say that I love her. But, _Skye's smile faltered into a frown.

_Does she love me the same way?_

Pondering over that thought was a bit depressing, so he shook his head, and looked up at the blue sky, his frown deepened a bit. _What an ugly color. The night sky is much nicer. _This light blue sky, reminded him of _her_ eyes.

Ugh. Another depressing thought was beginning to form in his head. Not good.

Looking back over to Jill's farm, Skye noticed that the farmer was acting a bit odd as she stumbled out of her animal barn. Just a while ago he had seen the archaeologist's assistant, Flora, stomp out of the building. Surely Jill should know that it was her cue to start the game, right?

Skye continued to watch the farmer's actions as she scrambled to get up. She rocked back and forth, side to side, and to and fro like a pendulum. In his confusion, Skye narrowed his eyes, completely befuddled by the strange behavior.

"HAY CWAIRE! -hic- I THINKS FLORY NEEDED SOMETHINGZZZ_-hic_-zzz." Jill literally screamed loud enough fo Skye to hear. The thief chuckled. What the hell?

"OH REALLLAY~? I DIDN'T KNOWS DAT~." Claire bellowed, making her way out of the barn before tripping on her own feet.

"HAHA. NOW WHO'S FALLING...NOW?" Jill cackled.

Hmmm...this was getting kind of weird.

Shrugging, Skye laid down on his back, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

_There he was, a handsome prince. Only an outline of him was visible, but she could tell it was him. She was a bit disappointed at what she saw though. The prince stumbled, and acted in such foolish ways that she could not describe, but she also knew that he didn't normally act like this. The prince was usually calm and collected, albeit a bit stubborn and hot-headed at times, but he was actually determined and brave. This prince was on an entirely seperate quest, but she couldn't help but hope that he would come across her, and maybe rescue her on his way..._

* * *

The sky had now turned into a dark blue, with tiny stars dotting the night sky.

"OI!"

A loud cry instantly woke Skye up. Narrowing his turquoise eyes, Skye stared down at the brunette with a look of malice.

"Gee, thanks." he muttered. The thief was feeling pretty cranky from the lack of sleep he had been given these past few days.

"-hic- So like, whaddya wan'?" Jill bellowed.

"What do you think?" Skye smirked. He was a bit perturbed by the strange behavior Jill displayed, but nonetheless eager to continue the game.

"Wait a minute...I got it! Yer game, amirite?" Jill slurred out thoughtfully. By this time, you would figure out that she was drunk, right?

Well, this idea hadn't crossed the thief's mind yet. In his eyes, she wasn't drunk, just being weird. That wasn't an unusual trait of Jill's, so he shrugged it off.

Expertly jumping off the ridge of the hill, Skye landed on the ground gracefully, and smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles on his leopard-print jacket. He propped his hand on his hip, providing a perfect bishie image without really trying. You could just hear the fangirls screaming their heads off in the distance.

"Alright, this round of the game is quite simple. Just hand me that paper you found last time, and I'll tell you what you're looking for." Skye held out his free palm expectantly.

Jill stared.

Skye stared.

And Skye just realized that Claire was passed out on the floor.

"Has she been here the whole time?" he asked, his hand still held out to Jill.

"Me? Course I have. -hic-." the brunette replied.

The thief simply shrugged. "So, the paper?"

Amethyst eyes widening, Jill clasped a hand over her mouth. "I FERGOT ABOUT DAT." she said loudly.

"Okay, just go get it." Skye sighed. "But you're time limit will be shortened, so make it quick."

The brunette sprinted back towards her farm, bumping into a few trees along the way. Raising his eyebrows at the brunette's quirkiness, he turned to the other farmer.

"Hey, is she oka-" Skye looked down at the fainted blonde.

"Never mind." he folded his arms across his chest, glancing at the direction Jill had left. Once again, he began to ponder about his beloved.

He was fully aware of his own feelings, but what about hers?

Did she feel the same way about him?

Did she wake up every morning with only Skye in her mind?

Did she stay up hours on end, pondering about ways to impress him?

Did she dream about him?

Did she wish that there was more between them than just friendship?

Sighing, Skye tried to rid himself of all the negative thoughts threatening to leak into his head.

She must feel something. A tiny spark was good enough. He just needed assurance that she atleast loved him a little.

_What's the point in lying to yourself? _A voice asked.

"It's you." Skye stated bluntly. He leaned his back against a boulder that stood admist the waterfall.

_It's obvious...you don't want her to just feel _something_. You want her to have the same strong love for you as you have for her._ Skye smirked a little. It was strange for the goddess to suddenly become so sentimental when most of the time she was simply...mental.

"Of course."

_Why? Why do you love her so much?_

"And I should tell you because...?"

_I don't know if I should keep trying to interfere, or let you continue with whatever you're doing._

"Naturally, my vote is for the latter." He smirked.

_I'm keeping watch on you. Until I'm sure whatever you're doing is a good thing, I won't let my guard down._ The determination in her voice could be heard clearly.

"Oh. I see."

He waited a little longer to see if she'd say anything else, but only silence greeted him, so removing himself from the spot he stood in, he trudged over to Claire. There was no sign of her waking up anytime soon.

"Hey." He kicked her arm gently. A groan escaped the blonde's lips.

"Hey." He kicked a little harder. Nothing.

"Hey!" Kicked harder. Nothing.

"HEY!" He kicked REALLY hard.

"OW!" Claire sat up. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"

"Why are you and Jill acting like weirdos? I mean, it's normal for Jill to be weird, but I haven't seen her act THAT weird before. And not you either."

Well, it seems that our previously oblivious Skye has been enlightened. Whoop de doo.

"I dun knowwwww...maybe itz cuzzzz...WE'RE STONED!" Claire cried out.

"...Stoned? Where in this quaint little valley would you even be able to find weed?" This was scaring Skye.

"Heheheheeeee~ it's everywhere..." Claire pointed at a patch of weeds in front of the tent.

"Not that kind..."

"HEYHEYHEYHEYYYYYYYYY!" Was that a monster calling out to them?

Oh wait, that's Jill. It's hard to tell between the two sometimes.

"You...have the map...right?" Skye asked hesitantly. It was quite obvious that these girls were high/stoned/drunk, so in order to avoid any mishaps, Skye decided to keep low for now, and avoid annoying the girl in any way.

"This, amirite?" She held out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. A small diagram of the inside of the last floor of the excavation site was on it.

"Yes, yes, just hand it over." If the game was stalled any longer, time would run out too soon.

Jill handed the paper to Skye. Smoothing it out a bit, Skye pointed at the small X in the center of the page.

"See that? That's where you're headed. This only shows the last floor of the mine though, so getting there is your problem. Although, I can provide some helpful advice," the thief continued, "There are some traps laid out on the odd-numbered floors, and on every floor are these...creatures. They look a lot like barn animals, but they're quite different." He nodded.

"OOOoOoOoooh. Animals~?"

"Yes. Animals that should not be trifled with. And since this is a VERY hard task, I'm giving you a whole day to complete it. Which in that case you will need this." The thief handed the girl a large backpack.

"It has many essentials you'll need. A tent, sleeping bag, some granola bars, water, a first-aid kit..."

"How does it all fit in thare~" The girl asked. The thief shrugged.

"Don't question these things. I'm being extremely considerate here."

"Do I start nao~?"

"Mhmm. But before that, any questions?" Skye asked.

Shaking her head, Jill started making her way towards the entranced of the site.

"Wait a minute!" The thief cried out suddenly.

Turning around, Jill cocked her head to the side. "Yesh~?"

"...Be careful."

* * *

_The prince was off on his quest. The fact that he still acted like a blundering fool did not erase her trust in him. Hopefully, the prince will recover, and daringly make his way through the mystical traps that were indirectly set for him by the evil magician. _

_Sadly, she could see nothing more than a silhouette of her prince. Perhaps if she waited a bit longer, she could see his face and live happily ever after._

* * *

"Lalalalaaaa LAAAAA~ lalalalaaaaaa LA. LALALALAAAAA LA. Lalalalaaaa~" The brunette skipped around happily, brightening up the darkeness of the cave with her god-given singing abilities. As she continued to repel any creatures from coming within a 5 foot radius of her with the theme song of Star Wars, she smashed open rocks with her totally safe hammer that weighed double her size.

She repeatedly fell, hole by hole by hole. But, that didn't matter too much. Her brain was already damaged enough. We can't be too sure what'll happen once she's sober though...

"Oh geez! What is THIS?" She casually picked up a shining blue diamond from the floor. She held it up, and examined it, squinting her amethyst eyes.

"I DON'T LIKE IT." The brunette tossed the ugly piece of garbage over her shoulder and stuffed her backpack with pounds of junk ore.

"Teehee~ Imma be RICH once I get back."

"Coo."

Jill dropped her backpack of ores as she turned around, trying to figure out just what made that weird noise. Figuring it was just her imagination (was she finally sobering up?) she decided it was best to ignore it.

"Coo."

Ummmmm...yeah.

"Coo."

She felt something tug at her pant leg.

"HOLY SHIT!" She kicked her leg up and a dark colored chick smashed against the celing. Seconds later, the animal crashed back down onto the dirt floor.

"COO!"

Her eyes widened, Jill looked down at the animal below her.

"Oh no...are you okai?" Soberness level +1. Just twenty more, and she'll be back to normal. Hopefully.

She crouched down to pick up the furry chick. The chick lay there motionless in her hands. Jill poked it, hoping that some kind of reaction would come out of the poor creature.

It slowly opened its eyes, and looked up at Jill. Baring its teeth, it clamped down on Jill's finger with all its strength.

"Awwwwww...are you hungwy?" She reached into her backpack and took out a granola bar. Breaking it in two, she placed one half in her palm next to the chick, and the other in her free hand.

"Let's eat, okai?" Jill watched as the chick's eyes glowed with gratitude as it ate its share.

"You. Are. So. Cute. I'm bringing you back home." She gently placed the chick in one of her pockets, and making sure that its head was poking out for air, she picked up her hammer and backpack, and continued looking for some deep hole to fall in.

* * *

_As expected, the prince is a kind soul. Helping creatures in need, expecting nothing in return. Even if it were a monstrous abomination, the prince would not leave it. With this in mind...he would save her as well, right?_

_But that magician...he lurks just outside the castle...possibly to dispel any ways of the prince ever reaching her._

_All she could see was an outline-the prince was thin, and quite short. That didn't matter to her though. _

* * *

"You know~ I loved you." Her eyes half closed, Claire smiled up at Skye from her spot on the ground.

"I STILL do, actually. Yer a DAMN bastard for making me feel dis way." the blonde continued.

Patting her blonde hair, Skye merely shook his head.

"Sorry. Wish I could say the same, but I'd be lying then." He stated bluntly.

Glaring, fire swirled in her glass blue eyes. "Dint ya use ta love me too?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not sure anymore, because my love for Jill completely erased any affections I had for you."

"It's her fault then." Although it was meant to be whispered softly, it came out as cold and harsh.

"Mostly yours." Skye looked up at the stars.

"Just cuz of dat thing? It wasn' dat big of a deal ya know."

"I could have gotten arrested. Don't act like you didn't do it on purpose. At least Jill wasn't swayed by the fact that she could have been rewarded money for my capture. You on the other hand disappoint me." Skye's icy voice cut through the thin air.

"Forgive me, then."

"No. Even if I did, my love for Jill is much too strong to steer away now. She's completely trapped my heart."

"And you're okay with that?" Her eyes were on Skye, hardened, and no lie could escape her watchful gaze.

A soft breeze passed them as Skye paused to contemplate his next words.

"Perhaps I should reword my sentence. She didn't just capture my heart, I purposefully led my own heart into loving her."

* * *

"This is the right way right?"

"COO!"

"No? This way then?"

"COO!"

"ARE YOU EVEN HELPING ME HERE?" Jill pleaded.

Ku responded by chomping on her ear.

"KU!" Jill shrieked. "Look, I'm gonna put you back in my pocket if you don't behave!"

"COO!" it growled. Sighing, Jill proceeded to smash another boulder with her hammer.

They were now several feet below the surface; atleast a hundred floors towards the bottom. The cave was now much darker and damp and very little light shone through the ceiling now. Having been accustomed to the dark though, Ku (Jill's newfound companion) served as somewhat of a navigator, prodding Jill in the right direction as they went along their journey.

With no idea of what time it was, Jill could only assume that atleast half a day had passed.

"Fine, this way?"

Ku made a small chirp of approval. At this, Jill walked forward until she found herself falling through a hole: as usual of course.

The fall this time was quite short, and the two had found themselves deeper into the cave.

"Alright, almost there..." Jill paused, and a horrible sight greeted her.

This room was much brighter than the floors above it. It was an odd thing, since the cave was supposedly darker as they went deeper. But, alas, that was not the problem Jill concerned herself with at the moment.

Looking around, Jill found herself surrounded by barn animals-cows, sheep, chickens...

But these were different. Their bloodshot eyes were narrowed into a noticable glare and their coats were a dull gray. The creatures' sharpened teeth were covered in foam, and the only sound that could be heard in the room was the low growls of the animals.

There was literally an army of them ready to tear her to shreds.

"Hey, they like granola bars too, right?" Jill asked Ku in a shaky voice.

Ku had burrowed itself in the pocket of her jeans, whimpering to itself.

Gritting her teeth, Jill exclaimed, "Oh, what GREAT help you're being right now. Just support me while cowering in fear in there, why don't you?" Her small hands were wrapped around her hammer tightly as she examined her opponents and came up with strategies to get herself out of this hellhole.

The chickens posed little threat: Jill simply had to kick them out of the way and they would trouble her no further.

Sheep were a bit more difficult to deal with: perhaps she could manage to aim at their legs as they ran towards her. Their legs were quite scarwny after all.

But cows were a different story. They were muscular _everywhere _so finding their weak spot would be troublesome.

_Aiming at the head might be effective..._

She stood straight, with the hammer held in the air like a bat as the animals started charging at her all at once. Swinging her hammer to and fro, Jill knocked them down one by one without a scratch as her strategies proved to be successful.

A kick there, a fist here, a bloody battle waged between the monsters and Jill. Okay, not_ too _bloody, but damn, it was pretty violent.

* * *

_Her prince was strong: for one of such a small stature, the prince showed no struggle of overtaking his opponents. One by one they fell, and finally, the prince had won._

_He was so close..._

* * *

After a long two hours of real life Black Ops action-except with a hammer and animals-the creatures lay in defeat, motionless, and Jill grinned in triumph.

"Naturally, I would have won of course." she stuck her tongue out.

"Now," Jill gasped for breath, "You're still alive, right, Ku?"

A small chirp was heard. Nodding, the farmer smirked to herself.

"I was thinking about cooking you for dinner as punishment once we got home, but since I'm a vegetarian, you're one lucky ass animal."

"Meep!"

Chuckling, Jill scooped the bird out of her pocket and placed it back on her shoulder.

"Okay, okay, I was just kidding. I didn't expect much help from you in the beginning anyway, you know." At that, a loud rumble could be heard throughout the room.

Towards the back, two boulders spread apart like a gate, and opened up to show that there was another room in this floor of the cave.

* * *

_There was light. A light shined down upon her prince. What a beautiful sight it was, to finally be able to see her true love. A full figure stood before her: not a sillhouette and neither an outline._

My prince.

* * *

**Hello there. Miss me? :D Ok, if you don't, then it's totally understandable. I've been neglecting this, and I'm sorry. As always, here is my usual excuse: **

**School. Enough said.**

**So, I'm sorry if there's a lot of grammatical errors in this chapter. It's been SO long, and I was eager to post this up already, but I'll fix up the mistakes when I look through it again.**

**I hope this story is still being read, because I feel like I failed everyone who's actually been waiting for this for so long.**

**I'm sowwy :(**

**Next chapter's coming up soon though :D And I mean it this time. Since summer's almost here, I will devote my time completing chapters as fast as I can from now on.**

**Oh yea, & reviews give me motivation ;) _*hinthint*_**

**See ya :)**


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